X allows adult content – with some restrictions
The social media platform formerly known as Twitter is putting regulations in place for X-rated postings.
In a post in its corporate help center, X said users may share “consensually produced and distributed adult nudity or sexual behavior, provided it's properly labeled and not prominently displayed.”
X defines allowable adult content as "consensually produced and distributed material depicting adult nudity or sexual behavior that is pornographic or intended to cause sexual arousal." The social platform said its adult content policy also covers AI-generated, photographic and animated content.
However, adult content posted on X must be placed behind a content warning that users must acknowledge before they can view it. Users who are under 18 or don’t have a birth date on their profile will not be able to view adult content with this warning.
Anyone is able to report violations of this policy, and X will automatically adjust the content settings of users who regularly post adult content without abiding by the regulations.
Posters who have content flagged for adult material are able to file an appeal if they think it was in error. Adult content did also appear on Twitter before its purchase by multibillionaire and Tesla owner Elon Musk and transformation to X, with controls in place but no formal policy.
Twitter, which was acquired for $44 billion by Musk in October 2022, officially rebranded to X in July 2023 in a step toward what Musk has said is a gradual transformation to an “everything app.”
While Musk has still not publicly specified what exactly an “everything app” would do, media outlets have speculated he wants to turn Twitter into a “super app” such as the Chinese WeChat app, which provides functionality including mobile payment, messaging and social media from a single platform.
In addition to serving as a promotional platform, X does have some digitl commerce capabilities and collaborates with a variety of retailers, including a recently launched partnership with Beyond, the parent company of Bed, Bath & Beyond, Overstock, Zulily and other brands.
Some observers have said that controversial comments Musk has made on X since he purchased it have had a negative impact on revenues of both X and Tesla, the manufacturer and retailer of electric vehicles (EVs) for which Musk serves as CEO and is the largest shareholder.