Twitter quietly removed its policy prohibiting the targeting misgendering and deadnaming of transgender people this month. The policy, enacted in 2018, said that intentionally and repeatedly calling a transgender person by the wrong name or pronouns is against Twitter‘s terms of service and could result in a suspension.   

Current Twitter guidelines still say that targeting individuals based on their gender, gender identity or sexuality is against Twitter policy, yet the phrase “This includes targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals” has been removed. 

The change was initially noticed by LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), which issued a statement on Tuesday calling the change dangerous. 

“Twitter’s decision to covertly roll back its longtime policy is the latest example of just how unsafe the company is for users and advertisers alike,” GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said. “This decision to roll back LGBTQ safety pulls Twitter even more out of step with TikTok, Pinterest and Meta, which all maintain similar policies to protect their transgender users at a time when anti-transgender rhetoric online is leading to real world discrimination.”

Conservative users on Twitter applauded the decision once it was revealed Tuesday and took the opportunity to ridicule the dead policy.