X: the words “cis” and cisgender” will be considered insults on the platform. Beware of being banned!

The culture war continues unabated in the United States, with an impact on the social network X.com. Where words previously considered benign could lead to sanctions in the future.

Elon Musk has always presented himself as an advocate of freedom of expression, which he wants as broad as possible. It was with this idea that he bought Twitter, which has since become X, explaining that from now on, the only limits that will be imposed on its interface will be those of the law of the country where the user resides. A principle which seems not to be so intangible as that, given a new feature which has just appeared on X.

“Cis”, “cisgender”, the words of discord

It is common knowledge that Elon Musk is an adversary of a number of LGBT activists, and that he wishes to participate in the culture war on this issue that currently exists in the United States. He explained last June that words like “cis”, or “cisgender”, designating for activists of this cause people identifying with their biological sex, were considered insults on his platform.

An indication which had until then had no consequences. But things have changed this week, as an essay from Techcrunch in which the journalist attempted to post a message containing the word cisgender. At the time of posting, he received the following alert: “ This post contains language that may be considered offensive by X and could be used in a harmful manner, in violation of our policies. »

What sanctions can we expect?

Still according to the same source, this communication only appears when a message is posted from the mobile application. The person who received this alert is then given the choice to either backtrack or continue and post the message on the platform.

It remains to be seen whether this warning will really have consequences in the future. Elon Musk has in fact always explained that he is uncomfortable with the idea of ​​having to ban people for their ideas, and prefers lively and unpleasant exchanges to moderation, which always potentially carries arbitrariness. So, is this simply a waste of time, or will there soon be accounts on X banned for using these terms?

Source : Engadget, Techcrunch