Twitter has quietly removed a policy against “targeted sex abuse or dead naming of transgender people”, raising concerns that the Elon Musk-owned platform is becoming less safe for marginalized groups.
Twitter enacted the policy against dead names or the use of a transgender person’s name before they transitioned, as well as the deliberate use of the wrong gender for someone as a form of harassment, in 2018.
On Monday, Twitter also said it would only put warning labels on some tweets “potentially” in violation of its rules against hateful conduct. Previously, tweets were deleted.
It is in this policy update that Twitter appears to have removed the line against dead names from its rules.
“Twitter’s decision to secretly backtrack on its longstanding policy is the latest example of how dangerous the company is to users and advertisers alike,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, Twitter Group President and CEO. GLAAD defense. “This move to roll back LGBTQ safety further alienates Twitter from TikTok, Pinterest and Meta, all of which maintain similar policies to protect their transgender users at a time when anti-transgender rhetoric online is leading to discrimination and violence. in the real world.”
Twitter did not immediately respond to a message for comment on Tuesday.
