Tumblr banning adult content starting Dec. 17, citing porn concerns
Social-networking site Tumblr on Monday said it's prohibiting pornography and other adult content, with the new policy effective in two weeks.
The move comes weeks after Tumblr's app was yanked from Apple's App store after images of child pornography made it past the site's filters. Once spotted, the content was immediately removed, but led to a review of its rules overall.
"We spent considerable time weighing the pros and cons of expression in the community that includes adult content," Tumblr CEO Jeff D'Onofrio wrote in a blog post. "It became clear that without this content we have the opportunity to create a place where more people feel comfortable expressing themselves."
The news was decried in some quarters online, with the hashtag #tumblrisdead quickly cropping up on Twitter. The site was "the last place on the internet that wasn't restrictive," one poster wrote. "Very sad loss for the internet on the 17th."
@tumblr honestly I spend so much time on tumblr. I get all the best fanfics and fan art there. It’s a shame, tumblr was the last place on the internet that wasn’t restrictive. Very sad loss for the internet on the 17th. #riptumblr #tumblrisdead
— Skylar (@ayeeeitsskylar) December 3, 2018
Others were less sanguine, with one predicting Tumblr's demise, saying it had "just signed its own death warrant."
Tumblr just signed it's own death warrant 💀 Do they not know their niche in the social media landscape? The place served as a great site for underground artists of all content - including those who like SEX
— Brett Gleason (@BrettGleason) December 3, 2018
What's so bad about that? #tumblrisdead https://t.co/zndUitTB2b
Founded in 2007, Tumblr is currently owned by Verizon following its 2016 acquisition of Yahoo. The search engine bought Tumblr for $1.1 billion in 2013.
Tumblr's move comes on the heels of a like-minded announcement by Starbucks. The coffee chain last week told Business Insider it would have filters in place in 2019 to keep customers from using its in-store WiFi from accessing explicit material.
The decision also drew a backlash of sorts, with porn site YouPorn reportedly telling employees in a memo that Starbucks products would be banned from YouPorn offices, starting in the new year.