By BARBARA ORTUTAY, Related Press Expertise Author

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Main social media platforms comparable to TikTok, Instagram and X have failed to guard LGBTQ+ customers from hate and harassment, partially, as a result of they deliberately rolled again earlier security practices, the advocacy group GLAAD stated Tuesday in its annual Social Media Security Index.

The report stated that latest “unprecedented hate speech policy rollbacks” from Instagram and Fb father or mother Meta Platforms and Google’s YouTube are “actively undermining the safety of LGBTQ people” each on-line and offline. Meta’s rollback now permits customers to name LGBTQ folks “mentally ill,” amongst different coverage modifications.

The scorecard assigns numeric rankings to every platform with regard to LGBTQ security, privateness, and expression. Elon Musk’s X obtained the bottom rating at 30 out of 100, whereas TikTok got here in highest at 56. Meta’s Fb, Instagram, Threads and Google’s YouTube had been within the 40s. The group’s methodology has modified since final yr, so the scores usually are not immediately akin to earlier experiences.

“At a time when real-world violence and harassment against LGBTQ people is on the rise, social media companies are profiting from the flames of anti-LGBTQ hate instead of ensuring the basic safety of LGBTQ users,” stated Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD’s president and CEO.

Whereas X has obtained the bottom scores since Musk’s takeover of the platform in 2022 — when it was referred to as Twitter — Meta’s backslide can largely be attributed to its latest coverage shift. CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated in January that Meta is eradicating restrictions on subjects like immigration and gender “that are out of touch with mainstream discourse,” citing “recent elections” as a catalyst. GLAAD calls the rollback ”notably excessive.”

Representatives for Meta, TikTok and X didn’t instantly reply to messages for touch upon Monday afternoon.

GLAAD stated Google not too long ago eliminated “gender identity and expression” from YouTube’s listing of protected attribute teams, which means that the platform is “no longer protecting transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people from hate and discrimination.”

Google says this isn’t the case.

“We confirmed earlier this year our hate speech policy hasn’t changed. We have strict policies against content that promotes hatred or violence against members of the LGBTQ+ community and we continue to be vigilant in our efforts to quickly detect and remove this content,” Google stated in an announcement.

Though GLAAD acknowledges Google’s assertion, the group stresses that gender identification has not been restored as a protected attribute on YouTube’s hate speech coverage web page.

“YouTube should reverse this dangerous policy change and update its ‘Hate Speech’ policy to expressly include gender identity and expression as a protected characteristic,” the report says.

GLAAD’s report makes coverage suggestions for safeguarding LGBTQ customers, although it’s unclear if the platforms will take these up, on condition that many have rolled again such protections. For example, GLAAD says platforms ought to shield LGBTQ folks from hate, harassment and violence, prohibit focused misgendering and “deadnaming” of transgender customers and clarify steps it takes to cease wrongfully eradicating or demonetizing authentic accounts and content material associated to LGBTQ subjects.

Initially Printed: Might 13, 2025 at 12:15 PM EDT