X now formally allows X-rated content, according to a new rule change over the weekend.

While adult content has always been present on X, formerly Twitter, the platform has never formally tried to regulate pornography until now.

According to the new policy, X users can distribute and post consensually produced “adult nudity and sexual behavior” as long as it’s properly labeled and not “prominently displayed.”

“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,” the new rule reads. “We balance this freedom by restricting exposure to adult content for children or adult users who choose not to see it.”

The new policy defines adult content as any post containing full or partial nudity or posts containing explicit or implied sexual behavior.

Before posting on X, users are given the option to label their posts as explicit. Under the new rules, if users post adult content without properly labeling it, they could risk having their post removed or their account suspended.

The policy echoes X’s rules surrounding violent content. While some graphic content is allowed on X, the site has officially disallowed any excessively gory or sexually violent content. However, violent content continues to spread on X, partly because Mr. Musk gutted the platform’s content moderation teams when he acquired the company in late 2022.

Pornographic content has broken out of containment as well, with automated porn accounts showing up in the replies to nearly every popular post. The new rules may be a way for X to crack down on the bot accounts and could add a foundation to the company’s fight against child exploitation and nonconsensual porn.

• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.