LinkedIn has joined the ranks of social media platforms and companies discreetly retracting protections for LGBTQ users at a time when transgender communities face heightened risks across the nation.

The networking platform has removed a clause from its hateful conduct policy that expressly forbade the misgendering and deadnaming of transgender individuals. This unannounced alteration was initially reported by Open Terms Archive.

LGBTQ advocacy organizations perceive explicit protections as the minimum standard for companies seeking to defend LGBTQ users, acting as an indicator of a platform’s dedication to safeguarding historically marginalized groups. According to GLAAD’s annual Social Media Safety Index, which assesses major platform policies on tackling anti-LGBTQ online hate, harassment, and misinformation:

Every platform should uphold public-facing policies that: shield LGBTQ individuals from hate, harassment, and violence; ban targeted misgendering and deadnaming grounded in gender identity; outlaw content that promotes “conversion therapy;” prohibit advertisements that incite hate, harassment, and violence against LGBTQ persons based on protected characteristics; provide clarity on proactive measures to prevent demonetizing or unjustly removing genuine content and accounts related to LGBTQ issues; and describe internal mechanisms to ensure adherence to commitments regarding LGBTQ safety, privacy, and expression.

Moreover, LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, has eliminated “race or gender identity” from its list of monitored “inherent traits” for potential harassment. These represent the first modifications to the hateful conduct policy since 2023, as noted by Open Terms Archive.

In a statement to Engadget, a spokesperson for LinkedIn asserted that the change does not indicate a shift in the company’s “underlying policies,” emphasizing: “Personal attacks or intimidation based on identity, including misgendering, breaches our harassment policy and is prohibited on our platform.” They did not clarify the reason for the complete removal of the language.

LinkedIn is the most recent entity to weaken previously robust protections. Notably, Meta completely revamped its hateful conduct policy, allowing users to share previously banned divisive and harmful rhetoric, including terms like “mental illness” and “abnormality” in discussions about gender and sexual orientation, under the banner of free speech. Meta’s independent Oversight Board has urged the elimination of discriminatory language in the company’s revised policy. Advocates have characterized such actions as a direct assault on marginalized groups, a potential hazard to public health, and even a “precursor to genocide.”