The internet has always been home to a wide range of information, so it came as no surprise when individuals began tweeting adult content to one another.
X (previously Twitter) has long had active NSFW (not safe for work) groups, and although the social network informally allowed users to upload pornographic material, its policies have never explicitly prohibited or permitted such content.
That is changing now. Over the weekend, X added terms to its rules, enabling users to publish pornographic and graphic material on the network—with a few restrictions. As long as they clearly label it as such, users can now publish consenting NSFW material. The new regulations also apply to AI-generated movies and photos.
Given that Elon Musk’s company, X, has already experimented with officially hosting sexual material with NSFW groups, the regulation change is not entirely surprising. 
As long as users create, share, and consume sexually themed content in a consensual manner, we believe they should have this freedom. According to X’s “adult content” policy page, sexual expression, whether visual or textual, may be a valid form of creative expression.
“We believe in individuals’ liberty to interact with and produce material that represents their own ideas, wants, and experiences, particularly those relating to sexuality. We balance this freedom by limiting exposure to adult content for children and adult users who want not to view it,” the website states.
X’s violent content restrictions follow similar principles, except the material must not be “excessively gory or depicting sexual violence.” The platform continues to prohibit anything that openly threatens, incites, or promotes violence.
The company’s argument for permitting graphic material is to let individuals engage in discussions about what is going on around them, which might include photographs and videos.
Users may label their posts as having sensitive material; however, users under the age of 18 or those who have not put their birth dates on their profile are unable to see such postings.
X has never actually outlawed pornography, but these conditions might allow it to construct services around adult material, such as launching a rival to OnlyFans to boost income.
According to a Reuters investigation from 2022 that cites internal corporate papers, around 13% of postings on the network featured pornographic material. Since then, adult content on X seems to have increased, particularly since porn bots have become more prevalent on the network.
Now that the social network has explicitly allowed adult content, officials will undoubtedly be keeping a close watch on X and its attempts to remove nonconsensual pornography and child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Last October, Australia punished X for failing to submit information on child abuse material, and around the same time, India warned various social networks, including X, to remove CSAM from their sites.
