Since October, there have been many account freezes, but the freeze wave starting around the 20th is unprecedented in scale!
So I've compiled posts regarding this recent freezing issue.
I've included my own analysis too, so please read to the end.
Chapter 1: Who is being frozen right now?
First, the situation. Here are the people stopped during this freeze wave, based on timeline reports.
There was a post that summarized this freeze wave perfectly, but the author's backup account was also frozen, so it can no longer be seen. The content was like this:
Political figures. Both feminists and anti-feminists. Both sides of opposing communities. Many blue-badge holders. And Japanese accounts have been frozen in recent days for "Child Safety" reasons. Artists who draw deformed child-like characters and cosplayers are also targeted, with old otaku comments from years ago being flagged.
https://x.com/nBwQSzmg3qU2ysd/status/2113266059633627359
Many people saw feminist accounts getting stopped one after another and thought, "People with bad wording got removed." But the next day, anti-feminist accounts, artists, and VTubers were also stopped. It is not being selected by ideology.
There are even scarier reports. People who simply reposted or liked child-like drawings were also frozen. Private accounts with no interaction with anyone were also frozen.
https://x.com/Aug_Scope/status/2113557763708321804
This is the key point here. People with private accounts who don't interact with anyone cannot be reported by anyone. Yet they are still being frozen. This means it is NOT because "someone reported them." X changed its criteria, and everyone matching those new criteria is being stopped en masse.
By the way, overseas is the same. Voices from Russian-speaking regions say, "The same thing is happening on X in Russia, you're not alone," and in English-speaking regions, AI illustration and anime art communities report, "More than 10 friends were stopped without reason from yesterday to today." This is not just a Japan issue; the same criteria are rolling out globally, hitting the Japanese-speaking sphere hardest because there are so many artists.
Chapter 2: Interesting Analysis
Various analyses about the freezes are emerging.
Even masking words led to freezes. This is the most important report this time. X does not look at the meaning of Japanese text. It mechanically picks up strings and image patterns. So "masking the word makes it safe" does not work. I won't write that specific word in this article either. Writing it itself becomes an entry point.
https://x.com/moyapidesuyo/status/2113577027710423206
https://x.com/unichuY/status/2113450595705291000
Many people interpret this as judgment being made not just by words, but also by art style.
Personally, I think this analysis is quite close ↓
https://x.com/nakakzs/status/2113264924088795565
Actually, X looks back quite far into past posts.
So during large-scale freeze waves, it is highly likely that past statements are reviewed, and the entire account status leads to freezing. It doesn't necessarily mean you did something truly illegal, but rather whether there are any past words or images that might trigger the filter.
Here I add my own view.
What X wants to do has always been one thing: eliminate bots. X's help page states, "Most account suspensions are due to spam behavior or obvious impersonation." This time, the issue of "child sexual exploitation" was added. In September, X officially declared via its account, "Zero tolerance for child sexual exploitation, including AI-generated content." Reading the policy, the scope includes not just photos but also "illustrations, computer-generated images."
They expanded this net and swept through past posts all at once. That is this freeze wave.
It hits regardless of ideology or community because the judgment runs on word and image strings, not ideology. There are many blue-badge holders not because they were targeted, but because high-volume posters have more past logs containing triggering words. Private accounts with no interaction get hit because it's a mass sweep within X, not reporting-based.
The theory that "US midterm elections are the cause" is often seen, but this is half-mixed. On October 14, X officially announced, "We suspended over 13,000 foreign fake account networks targeting US politics." But this is about political bot networks, separate from artists or private account users. The only connection is that X says they found these in a "mass review." Right now, a mechanical mass sweep is running inside X.
Chapter 3: What should we do then?
Ultimately, this is the answer: "Wait."
People who drew small-character art and got frozen, people frozen for old statements, people frozen just for reposting. These clear cases of collateral damage will be reinstated.
Why can I say this confidently? Because I myself have been frozen twice when X regulations tightened. Both times, it was lifted in just 2 days. Moreover, I received an email from X saying, "After review, no issues were found."
Timeline reports of reinstatement are the same. "Got frozen for old posts, filed an appeal, and it was fixed instantly," "If your record is clean, deleting posts brought it back," "Sent an appeal in English and got reinstated." Machines stop them in bulk, humans restore them via appeals. That is the current operation.
X wants to stop bots and people actually targeting children. If you don't fit that, you are just collateral damage. Collateral damage returns if you wait.
However, there are 3 things you must NOT do while waiting. Panicked people tend to do these, and doing them prevents true recovery.
- Do not create a new account.
Think that once frozen, you cannot create a new account. X's rules clearly state "Circumventing Suspension": creating new accounts, alternatives mimicking frozen accounts, reusing existing accounts, having others operate for you. All prohibited. Moreover, they reserve the right to freeze "regardless of creation date." Even old sub-accounts get dragged down. Using a sub-account as a main replacement to call back followers is the most dangerous move.
- Do not delete and repost.
During a freeze, you cannot delete posts anyway. I verified this myself while frozen. You can only delete until the "Temporarily restricted" notice appears. And this time, reports emerged that someone masked a triggering word and reposted, resulting in a permanent freeze. Since judgment is string-based, masking doesn't work.
- Do not live-report from another account.
Announcing "My main account is frozen" from a backup account to gather followers. I understand the feeling. But this looks like "Circumventing Suspension" (same as #1). Save the freeze talk for after your main account returns. Actually, the person who wrote the summary in Chapter 1 continued posting from their backup account after their main was frozen, and that backup account was also stopped.
So what do you do? File an appeal. That's it.
Stay logged into the frozen account, open a new browser tab, and open the appeal form. If not logged in, it says "You are not logged into the suspended account" and the form won't open.
Write in both Japanese and English. Japanese-only may change meaning via X's auto-translation. Do not apologize. If you didn't violate, write "I did not violate." After sending, do not send additional emails for 1 week. If no reply, resend the same content with "Remind:" in the subject line.
For those not yet frozen, there is one thing to do: Search your past posts for words and images suggesting minors and review them. Delete now if needed. You cannot delete after being frozen.
Chapter 4: After returning
After returning, remember one thing.
Once frozen, your account rating drops. Your visibility may be harder to boost for a while.
But it's not a big problem. The account isn't gone, followers aren't gone. Visibility returns if you keep posting normally.
So, wait casually. Creating a new account out of panic is the worst move.
Summary
• This freeze wave is the result of X expanding child-related detection and sweeping past posts.
• Ideology and community don't matter. Private accounts get hit. Masking doesn't work.
• Collateral damage victims return if they wait. I returned in 2 days both times.
• Don't create new accounts, don't delete/repost, don't live-report from other accounts.
• Only file an appeal. Use both Japanese and English, don't apologize.
• If you're safe, review your past posts NOW.
One last time.
For those who want to "monetize on X!" I made a free video tutorial on how to do it.
Those afraid of freezes and stopping should know the recovery mechanism and earning flow first—it makes you stronger.
Please grab it!
