X: Elon Musk's platform allows porn content without age control - that could spell trouble
X, formerly Twitter, issues new guidelines. Pornographic material is now explicitly permitted. However, there is no system for checking the age of visitors. This could cause trouble in the EU.
Elon Musk's platform X, formerly known as Twitter, recently issued new guidelines for its users. It is now permitted to post content that shows "adult nudity or sexual behaviour". In other words: pornography. This was reported by the tech portal TechCrunch, among others.
The condition for this is that the content was produced by mutual agreement and is clearly labelled as adult content. The content may also not be advertised - it is also considered "advertising" if explicit content is shown in a profile picture or banner.
Not new, but legally difficult
Even before this development, X tolerated porn - or did not explicitly ban it. After the paid version "X Premium", previously "Twitter Blue", was introduced, adult content on the platform multiplied.
Source: Florian Bodoky
Industry experts are currently speculating as to whether this content may soon be monetised. A business model along the lines of "OnlyFans", where a fee is charged for sexual content, would be a good idea. Especially since the portal had to deal with a temporary decline in advertising customers following the takeover by Elon Musk. However, the official security account of X released that these rules have been adjusted "for the sake of transparency" - so it is now clear "what is allowed and what is not".
Lack of age verification in the EU could become a problem
In the European Union, however, there is the Digital Services Act (DSA). This is a regulation that contains a series of liability and safety regulations for digital platforms and services. This applies in particular to companies that are classed as VLOPS (very large online platforms) - including X.
Article 6a of the DSA states that media services must ensure that content that "may impair the physical, mental or moral development of minors" is only made available in such a way that it does not impair the physical, mental or moral development of minors.minors is only provided in such a way as to ensure that it cannot normally be heard or seen by minors (....) for example through age verification".
Source: Florian Bodoky
However, X doesn't seem to want to follow this article at the moment. At the moment, it is sufficient to enter a corresponding date of birth in your account. In the past, the EU Commission has already called on portals with such content to take technical measures to keep minors away from this content. It is foreseeable that X, as a particularly large online platform, will also soon have to comply with this request. Failure to do so could result in an investigation (including possible financial or operational consequences, up to and including blocking). An investigation against X was already initiated last December. At that time, however, it was about the obligations to moderate content.
The situation is currently different in Switzerland. Although there is a motion for a corresponding law, it is currently still in the consultation process. <p
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.