Elon Musk's X has already backed off its new anti-trans hate policy

X, formerly known as Twitter, has revised its recent policy that addressed anti-trans hate and harassment against transgender users on the platform. Just after introducing the policy, it has been updated.

On Thursday, X updated its “Abuse and Harassment” policy by including a section named “Use of Prior Names and Pronouns.” As per this updated policy, if a post misgenders a user or uses their previous name and the user reports it, the post’s visibility would be reduced.

However, within the last day, this new policy has already been modified, significantly changing how it is implemented.

The original terms of the new policy, revealed last Thursday, were as follows:

“We will reduce the visibility of posts that purposefully use different pronouns to address someone other than what that person uses for themselves, or that use a previous name that someone no longer goes by as part of their transition. Given the complexity of determining whether such a violation has occurred, we must always hear from the target to determine if a violation has occurred.”

The updated terms of the new policy have been revised, with added wording highlighted by Mashable:

“Where required by local laws, we will reduce the visibility of posts that purposefully use different pronouns to address someone other than what that person uses for themselves, or that use a previous name that someone no longer goes by as part of their transition. Given the complexity of determining whether such a violation has occurred, we must always hear from the target to determine if a violation has occurred.”

The inclusion of those 5 words clarifies that X will only limit the visibility of these anti-trans posts if it is demanded by the laws of a particular country, affecting users only in those countries.

What occurred to the new policy?

Prior to Musk’s ownership, the platform, then named Twitter, had a policy that explicitly banned misgendering or dead-naming transgender users. Violating this policy could lead to the removal of the offending tweet and suspension of the user responsible for it.

However, a few months following Musk’s acquisition, this policy was entirely eliminated. This explains why the latest updated policy on “Use of Prior Names and Pronouns” was significant, suggesting that X was reinstating a version of the previous policy.

It’s essential to note that the initial version of the new policy last week merely discouraged anti-trans harassment. Such content would have reduced reach, meaning the X algorithm would not promote these posts as recommendations. Posting anti-trans hate was still allowed, without the risk of deletion or suspension.

Nevertheless, over the past few days, several right-wing users on X, including various conservative figures, voiced complaints directly to Elon Musk about the policy.

Tweet may have been deleted

Attempting to address these concerns, Musk assured users like Chaya Raichik from the anti-LGBTQ account “Libs of TikTok” that they wouldn’t face suspension.

Despite Musk’s attempts, his right-wing fanbase remained unsettled. Influencers like YouTuber Tim Pool even considered halting advertising on the platform over the anti-trans harassment policy.

“I will be terminating all ad spend commitments and verified accounts over X reinstating the misgendering policy,” Pool declared.

In response to some of Pool’s grievances, Musk mentioned he was “fixing” the policy. He then provided an interpretation of the policy different from the original wording.

Tweet may have been deleted

“Turns out this was due to a court judgment in Brazil, which is being appealed, but should not apply outside of Brazil,” said Musk.

Consequently, X’s official policy has been altered in alignment with Musk’s recent declarations.