X Expands "Under the Hood": Now Reveals Reach Restrictions Due to Local Legal Demands
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- X memperluas fitur Under the Hood untuk menampilkan pembatasan visibilitas konten akibat kepatuhan pada hukum setempat, termasuk negara yang meminta.
- Langkah ini menjawab kekhawatiran shadowban dan memberi data konkret bagi kreator yang mengandalkan monetisasi.
- Fitur hanya tersedia untuk akun berusia minimal satu tahun dan telah memposting lebih dari 10 kali dalam sebulan terakhir.
Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) is expanding its "Under the Hood" transparency feature by displaying information about content reach restrictions caused by compliance with legal regulations in a given country. The policy was announced in response to growing user demand for clarity on content moderation practices, especially those related to government requests.
Previously, last month, X launched an Under the Hood update that provided deeper insight into how the platform's source code works. Alongside that, the company also released a simple reporting function that lets users see sanctions or restrictions applied to their posts or accounts. Now, X is broadening the feature's scope to cover restrictions that may affect the reach of posts and profiles.
In its explanation, X stated: "We're expanding Under The Hood after seeing users appreciate transparency around government-mandated content filtering. In addition to showing labels applied to your account and posts in the past month, Under The Hood now shows whether your account or posts have limited visibility due to compliance with local law. For example, you can see whether any posts were withheld in a country due to legal demands — and which country made the request."
The move is seen as X's effort to answer criticism over "shadowbanning" — restricting reach without notice — which has long been a user complaint. With more transparent data, creators enrolled in X's monetization program can understand whether their content is being penalized and adjust their strategy. For general users, the information also helps explain why a post may not appear in others' search results or timelines.
"We want to provide clarity on how legal compliance can affect reach, so users can make informed decisions," an X representative said in the official announcement.
Even so, the feature does not immediately erase all concerns. That is because restriction decisions remain in the platform's hands, and users have no transparent appeals mechanism. In addition, the requirement that accounts be one year old and have actively posted at least 10 times in the past month means not all users can access this insight, especially new or rarely active accounts.
For Indonesia, the policy could affect content creators and businesses that use X for promotion. By knowing whether their content is restricted due to local legal requests, they can evaluate campaign effectiveness and avoid risky material. However, it should be noted that regulations in Indonesia, such as site or content blocking by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, can trigger similar restrictions. This transparency could serve as a guide for users in the country to better understand the interaction between platform policy and national law.
Going forward, X's move could push other platforms to adopt a similar level of transparency, especially amid global pressure over content moderation. The question is whether this openness will be followed by a fair appeals mechanism, or whether it will amount to mere formality.
