Twitter has changed its Hateful Conduct Policy to remove protections for its transgender users, which was first spotted by the nonprofit organization Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) (via The Verge).
In the Hateful Conduct Policy, Twitter used to have a line that included “repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to dehumanize, degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category,” but removed the part that includes “targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals.”
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 trans users at a time when anti-transgender rhetoric online is leading to real world discrimination and violence.
— Sarah Kate Ellis (@sarahkateellis) April 18, 2023
GLAAD used Wayback Machine to learn that Twitter removed the inclusion of misgendering and deadnaming people back on April 8th. Twitter originally added the misgendering and deadnaming back in 2018 to cover transgender users.
Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, states that this is another example of how unsafe the platform is for its users and advertisers.
TikTok and Pinterest prohibit misgendering and deadnaming in their hate and harassment policies. Meta has also stated that it will “prohibit violent or dehumanizing content directed against people who identify as LGBTQ+ and remove claims about someone’s gender identity upon their request.”
According to The Verge, Twitter hasn’t completely gotten rid of its protections; however, the choice to pull misgendering and deadnaming seems like it’s purposefully attacking the trans community.
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