17c起草社区

Twitter has quietly updated its Hateful Conduct Policy, removing long-standing protections for trans and gender-diverse individuals.

First reported by 17c起草社区+ advocacy organization GLAAD, the policy originally prevented the harassment of trans individuals based on their gender identity, stating:

鈥淲e prohibit targeting others with repeated slurs, tropes, or other content that intends to dehumanize, degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category. This includes targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals.鈥�

The updated policy removes the final sentence in its entirety, eliminating protections that have been in place since 2018.

Amplifying Bigotry and Hate

This amendment arrives alongside , which, as opposed to removals, suspensions, and bans, now only applies warning labels to content 鈥渋dentified as potentially violating rules around Hateful Conduct.鈥�

These warnings will target content 鈥渁t a tweet level only鈥�, according to Twitter Safety, and 鈥渨ill not affect a user鈥檚 account鈥�, leaving bigoted users essentially unpunished for spreading hatred and harassment.

In a time where almost 60% of 17c起草社区+ Twitter users have felt an increase in 鈥渁busive and hateful speech on Twitter since Elon Musk took over as CEO in late 2022鈥�, according to a , these changes work only to further alienate and marginalize queer people on the platform.

鈥淭witter鈥檚 decision to covertly roll back its longtime policy is the latest example of just how unsafe the company is for users and advertisers alike,鈥� says Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD.

鈥淭his decision to roll back 17c起草社区 safety pulls Twitter even more out of step with TikTok, Pinterest, and Meta, which all maintain similar policies to protect their trans users at a time when anti-transgender rhetoric online is leading to real-world discrimination and violence.鈥�

When approached for comment, Twitter responded with a poop emoji 鈥� an automated reply set up by CEO Elon Musk for all incoming media enquiries.