Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has updated its rules to officially allow adult and graphic content. This update, first reported by TechCrunch on Monday, comes as part of a broader set of new guidelines that explicitly permit users to share consensually produced adult nudity or sexual behavior.
Although adult content and nudity have been present on Twitter for years and were never explicitly banned even before Musk’s takeover in late 2022, the new guidelines provide formal clarity. The updated rules state that “sexual expression, visual or written, can be a legitimate form of artistic expression.”
Under these new policies, posting adult content is permitted as long as it is appropriately labeled and not prominently displayed in profile pictures or account banners. Accounts that frequently post adult content will need to automatically mark their image and video posts as sensitive content. Additionally, adult content will be prohibited for users identified as children or those adult users who choose not to view it.
The policy also extends to AI-generated content, animations, cartoons, hentai, and anime. The platform’s safety team tweeted that the new guidelines aim to “bring more clarity to our rules and transparency into enforcement of these areas.”
Since acquiring Twitter with the intention of promoting free speech, Musk has faced criticism for reducing content moderation teams. Under his ownership, X has also experienced technical issues and has reinstated accounts of right-wing conspiracy theorists and former US President Donald Trump.
Musk’s broader vision for X includes expanding its revenue base beyond advertising and transforming it into a “super app” akin to China’s WeChat, integrating messaging, voice and video calling, social media, mobile payments, and online booking services.
4o
