Consortium proposes adding diversity to emoji icons

A proposal to expand the skin color options for emojis may get the thumbs up from those calling for more diversity in the icons.

Emojis are cartoonlike pictograms -- such as smiley faces or hearts -- that have become popular in texts and online chats to express emotion.

Unicode Consortium, the nonprofit organization that sets the standards for these pictograms, said in a proposal that is considering adding five new skin colors. The default emoji face was designed to be generic, but Unicode says users been clamoring for changes to better reflect global diversity.

The proposal is still under review but could lead to changes for many users as many operating systems are based on Unicode standards.