Social media network X is set to allow what it calls ‘consensually produced’ adult content onto its platform in a move that will allow nudity and pornography to be posted as long as they are correctly labelled.

Unlike rival platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) never officially sanctioned or banned adult content – which has resulted in the medium thriving across the platform, accounting for 13% of posts in 2022.

This latest move has the potential to even further alienate advertisers, who have been running for hills since Elon Musk’s takeover of the site in 2022, which has struggled with moderating problematic content.

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According to Tech Crunch, the new policy explicitly specifies that adult content must be “consensually produced and distributed”, although X has for offered no information regarding how this would be policed, nor how any potential victims would be supported.

A statement by X read: “Sexual expression, whether visual or written, can be a legitimate form of artistic expression. We believe in the autonomy of adults to engage with and create content that reflects their own beliefs, desires and experiences, including those related to sexuality.”

X’s new policy will now see it operate directly at odds with the likes of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, which all ban any form of nudity or pornography. The only other platform to allow such content, albeit properly labelled and consensual, is Reddit.