X announced Monday it will now notify users when their posts have been "shadowbanned" — shown to fewer people — because the company is complying with local laws, according to TechCrunch. The new feature expands the social network's existing transparency tool called "Under the Hood," which lets users see if any labels have been applied to their account or posts that could have affected their visibility. The tool will also highlight any downranking of users' posts due to government-required content filtering.

Previously, information about how an X user's account or posts were being labeled and downranked wasn't available to end users, the report notes. As a result, many often accused the company — formerly known as Twitter — of having shadowbanned them. Most companies that share data about government requests do so on an aggregate basis through "transparency reports," not at the account or post level. That began to change in August when X rolled out its transparency tool to offer more visibility into its moderation decisions. The "Under the Hood" option in the X app settings allows anyone who has posted at least 10 times during the month to download their aggregate stats as a JSON file, a standard data format. This same process will now show if an account or posts have had their visibility limited because X is complying with local laws, and the file will also include which posts were withheld in a country following a legal demand and which country made the request.

Governments cite a range of reasons for such demands, from laws against hate speech to terrorism-related content to election rules, the report states. X's vice president of product, Keith Coleman, previously said about the company's open-sourcing effort that it was "the kind of thing that I think people will be fairly shocked that we are releasing." Critics, including free-expression groups, say some countries also use these laws to squash political dissent.

The update follows a number of other transparency-related efforts at X, including the open-sourcing of its "For You" algorithm, which selects the posts in users' main feed, and an expansion of its efforts to open source parts of its codebase, according to the report. The latter involved adding more detail, including on the model configuration, filtering, and core ranking system details. That means the code now includes the parameters used to weight different signals — information that's key to understanding which posts are actually displayed. Non-technical users can drop the JSON file into any AI chatbot to have it explained, making the transparency tool accessible even to those without technical expertise. The move positions X as taking a more granular approach to transparency than its competitors, though the effectiveness of the tool depends on users knowing to check it regularly and understanding what the data reveals about government influence on their content. For platforms navigating the tension between compliance and free expression, individual-level disclosure may become an expected standard rather than a differentiator.