Social media platforms are not safe places for queer users according to GLAAD’s latest Social Media Safety Index
GLAAD has published the 2025 edition of its Social Media Safety Index, and it shows that the six biggest social media platforms are doing nowhere near enough to keep LGBTQIA+ users safe.
The report looks at the policies and protections of TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, and X, ranking them with a score out of 100. X comes in last place with a score of just 30, and with the highest score being a mere 56 out of 100, it’s clear there is a lot of work to do.
Apple celebrates queer communities with the launch of its Pride 2025 collection
June is Pride Month, and ahead of this Apple has launched its Pride 2025 Collection. There are free components to the collection, in addition to some to purchase, making it accessible to everyone.
The company says it proud to financially support organizations that serve LGBTQ+ communities and is using the collection as a way to "celebrate the strength and beauty" of such communities around the world. Among the goodies on offer is the hand-assembled Pride Edition Sport Band for Apple Watch, but iPhone and iPad users have not been forgotten.
Study finds that Instagram is beneficial to the wellbeing of queer youth
There is much said about the negative impact of social media on mental health and general welfare, but a new study suggests that there are benefits too -- especially for minority and marginalized groups such as the LGBTQIA+ community.
In particular, Instagram has been found to be a boost to the wellbeing of queer young people. Surveys of Instagram users in the United States and Poland showed that access to supportive online communities brought about a range of psychological benefits.
Famm Connect is a queer-focused LinkedIn for establishing LGBTQIA+ business connections
Finding the right platform through which to make meaningful and valuable connections can be difficult, and this is certainly true for LGBTQIA+ professionals and business owners. LinkedIn may be the go-to platform for establishing business connections, but it is very broad and almost too big.
Stepping in to fill a significant gap in the market is Famm Connect, which is billed as “the first mobile app for LGBTQ+ professionals” and the “queer LinkedIn”. The aim is to create a safe environment to establish connections and relationships.
Twitter quietly updates Hateful Conduct policy to remove protections for transgender users
Twitter has undergone some huge changes since Elon Musk took over at the social media platform, many of which have been very public. But others, like a recent update to its Hateful Content policy, have been quietly slipped out without announcement.
The policy change sees Twitter removing sections that specifically protected transgender users. This means that a long-standing ban on the purposeful deadnaming or misgendering of trans users has been lifted, leading to condemnation from LGBTQIA+ groups and angering the trans community.
Oversight Board recommends Meta change its policies to respect transgender and non-binary people
It is quite some time since Facebook was hit with the "free the nipple" campaign that demanded the company stop censoring or removing images of breastfeeding women. But now Meta is facing new recommendations from its independent Oversight Board to update the Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity Community Standard that it applies to Facebook and Instagram content to ensure it is "governed by clear criteria that respect international human rights standards".
The recommendation comes as the Oversight Board overturned Meta's decisions in 2021 and 2022 to remove content posted by a couple -- one of whom is transgender, the other non-binary -- for violating Sexual Solicitation Community Standards. Meta is criticized for taking a simplistic view of gender, with the Board saying that it is "unclear how the rules apply to intersex, non-binary and transgender people, and requires reviewers to make rapid and subjective assessments of sex and gender, which is not practical when moderating content at scale".
Google is making it easier to find LGBTQ+ owned businesses in Search and Maps
It is pride month, so many companies are wrapping themselves up in the rainbow flag and proclaiming their allyship with the LGBTQIA+ community. It is in this spirit that Google has launched a new label in its Maps and Search products to let businesses indicate that they are LGBTQ+ owned.
The new attribute is currently only available in the US, and only to merchants that have a verified Business Profile on Google. Google says that it gives people a way to support diverse businesses, adding to the existing Black-owned, Latino-owned, veteran-owned and women-owned attributes that verified business are able to use.
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