While it already had a sulphurous reputation, X (formerly Twitter) modifies its conditions of use and now authorizes pornographic and violent content on the platform on the grounds of freedom of expression.
While the Government is fighting for pornographic sites to actually verify the age of their users, in order to prevent their content from being accessible to minors – with only relative success –, ‘European Union. Indeed, the social network, accessible from 13 years old, is known for distributing a large amount of pornographic, pedophilic and zoophilic content which young people can easily come across (see our article). According to the figures of Reuters, 13% of content shared on the platform in 2022 was adult content. Arcom has also been contacted on this subject several times by child protection associations. However, until now, the social network prohibited “media showing violence and/or sexual assault”, “intimate photos or videos of a person taken or distributed without their consent” And “any content that depicts or promotes the sexual exploitation of children” in its terms of use. However, pornographic content – like videos from PornHub, for example – was authorized there.
This time, the social network was more explicit – it goes without saying – in its regulationswhich he has just modified. “You may share content containing adult nudity and sexual acts, produced and distributed with the consent of the people depicted”, it now indicates on the page dedicated to adult content of its support center. This is not going to please everyone…
Porno sur X: Elon Musk relaxes his conditions of use
X – which definitely lives up to its name – does, however, pose some restrictions. Thus, the contents “that promote exploitation, lack of consent, objectification, sexualization or mistreatment of minors, and obscene behavior”, remain prohibited. In addition, this type of content must “marked correctly” and not “be placed in highly visible areas”, like profile photos. In this way, content labeled as adult will not be able to be viewed by users under the age of 18 or those who have not indicated their date of birth on their profile.
In France, the platform is prohibited for children under 13, and those between 13 and 15 must register with parental authorization. Well, in theory. In fact, as there is no age verification tool, you just have to put in a false year of birth and say that you are over 18… What’s more, it’s crazy to believe that all porn content will indeed be labeled. According to the Superior Audiovisual Council (CSA) in the Wallonia-Brussels Federationmore than 5,000 French-speaking accounts offer explicit video content, sometimes “hard”, with free access, without adequate protection for minors.
Porn on X: a very convenient freedom of expression
Elon Musk’s social network justifies this decision by the famous freedom of expression and the fight against censorship so dear to its owner. According to him, “Users should be able to create, distribute and consume content related to sexual themes, as long as it is produced and distributed with the consent of the people represented. Sexual expression, whether visual or written, can be a legitimate form of artistic expression.”. He claims to believe “in the autonomy of adults in creating content reflecting their own beliefs, desires and experiences” and be able to offer balanced freedom “by restricting exposure to adult content for children and any users who choose not to view it”.
The change doesn’t stop there as X has also made similar changes to its violent content policies. It now allows users to “Share crude media, if it is marked correctly, if it is not placed in highly visible areas, if it is not excessively bloody and if it does not show sexual violence”. The justification is still the same: “X is a place where users can express themselves, show and discover what’s happening and debate about international issues, often by sharing images and videos in the conversation”.
Karim Ibourki, president of the CSA in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, sums up the situation well. “X is indeed a completely deregulated platform. The so-called freedom of expression has become the guise of a platform that only seeks money. However, there are very simple tools to detect illicit content. the world agrees that something must be done, except that we are in a blocked situation which benefits the platforms but harms what we hold most dear, the miners..