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Tumblr Bans Adult Content on December 17
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Blog site Tumblr announced on Monday that it will ban adult content such as explicit sexual content and nudity on the site beginning on December 17. The site said the banned content "primarily includes photos, videos, or GIFs that show real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples, and any content—including photos, videos, GIFs and illustrations—that depicts sex acts."
The ban has a guideline on certain exceptions that are still permitted, such as "female-presenting nipples" in connection to breastfeeding, birth or after-birth moments, medical situations, written erotica, nudity in political or newsworthy speech, and "nudity found in art."
The platform is currently using algorithms to automatically flag adult content, and notify users that their content will be hidden after December 17. Posts with adult content will be set to private, preventing them from being shared. Some users are already reporting the algorithm incorrectly flagging content as adult. Tumblr noted that users can appeal their flagged content. Tumblr CEO Jeff D'Onofrio added that regarding using automated tools, "We know there will be mistakes," and that the system will need human input to "help train and keep our systems in check."
Many creators, including illustrators, animators, and fan artists from Japan and other countries, use the platform to post art (adult or otherwise) and write blog posts.
