Tumblr updates guidelines to allow content with nudity and mature themes; CEO explains why porn is still off-limits

Tumblr is reversing its course on content with nudity and adult themes after announcing that these posts will be allowed again on the platform almost four years since they were banned. However, the company clarified that certain rules will still apply and pornographic images and videos will remain off-limits.

"We now welcome a broader range of expression, creativity, and art on Tumblr, including content depicting the human form (yes, that includes the naked human form)," the company said in a Tumblr Staff post on Tuesday. Tumblr pointed out that removing the ban on content with nudity and adult themes comes after it established Community Labels in September.

Tumblr said Community Labels should allow creators to share their work more freely while giving users more control over what they want and do not want to see on the platform. Some thought it signaled Tumblr's return to allowing pornographic content again.

That was not the case in September, and it is still not the case now. Tumblr clarified in the same post that pornographic materials are still off-limits, although it is now relaxing its rules on content with nudity and mature themes. In the Community Guidelines modified on Tuesday, "Sexually Explicit Material" remains under the list of themes that Tumblr does not allow.

The guidelines explain that content with "visual depictions of sexually explicit acts," including posts that overtly emphasize genitalia, remain banned from Tumblr. But art pieces with historical significance that may depict sex acts will be allowed as long they are posted with the correct Community Label. Tumblr added, however, that content with adult themes could still be demonetized.

In a separate post, Tumblr CEO Matt Mullenweg said one of the reasons porn cannot be allowed back on the platform is because credit card companies, financial services, and digital storefronts like Apple's App Store are "anti-porn." He added that there are new policies regarding consent and age verification that need to be followed and make it more complicated to allow porn back.

Mullenweg pointed out that platforms that primarily offer pornographic materials need specific service providers to function. "They also need specialized service providers – for example, for their bandwidth and network connections," the Tumblr CEO wrote.

App Store temporarily removed the Tumblr app in November 2018. Tumblr later confirmed it was due to an "industry database" error that failed to detect a content with child pornography. The following month, under Verizon's ownership, Tumblr imposed a total ban on all pornographic and NSFW content. Verizon sold Tumblr to WordPress owner Automattic the following year.

Photo by PhotoMIX-Company from Pixabay