Remember Tumblr? It’s that microblogging site people once used to share adult content until it enacted a blanket ban on nudity in December 2018, essentially erasing the one practical function of the platform.
Well, online adult behemoth Pornhub wants to return the site to its former glory.
A Wall Street Journal report this week said that Verizon, which acquired Tumblr in 2017 as a part of Yahoo, is interested in selling it. Since the adult content ban went into effect, it’s become nothing more than an expense.
Enter Pornhub, stage left, which has emerged as a very interested potential buyer, with the goal of removing the ban and freeing users to post sexually explicit images and videos.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Related: Tumblr traffic tumbles following ban of adult content
“Tumblr was a safe haven for those who wanted to explore and express their sexuality, adult entertainment aficionados included,” Pornhub Vice President Corey Price told BuzzFeed News. “We’ve long been dismayed that such measures were taken to eradicate erotic communities on the platform, leaving many individuals without an asylum through which they could comfortably peruse adult content.”
“There are obvious synergies between the two brands and value Pornhub could derive from Tumblr,” Price continued. “We’re extremely interested in acquiring the platform and are very much looking forward to one day restoring it to its former glory with NSFW content.”
The prohibition of adult content on Tumblr was met with immediate criticism from artists and photographers in the LGBTQ community, who felt the move would disproportionately affect queer people. Artist Courtney Trouble criticized the ban, saying it affects “queer and trans users by taking away a vital social component to a community that is bound together by their sexual orientation and sexual desire. Without social media that allows this kind of exploration, we are losing a lot.”
While no official offer has been made, Tumblr’s chances of being relevant again just increased exponentially.
Dan Tracer is a queer writer, handstand enthusiast, and lover of all Kaytranada remixes. Find him on Instagram.
Luminosity
I don’t care if any social media sites distribute the porn contents as long as they verify the user’s age with a valid credit card. All porn watchers need to be tracked and documented in a national database and routine re-verifications need to be done to insure the minors have zero access to the disgusting porn material.
DCguy
And guns too right?
Xzamilloh
Yeah, that doesn’t have the potential to ruin lives via databases of users’ names and addresses. Hell, this site also posts NSFW links to other websites… let’s see your real name and address on here.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
^^^^ PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE TROLL…LOSERS WITH NO LIVES TRY TO INFECT SITES LIKE QUEERTY WITH INANE IGNORANT POSTS TO TRY TO INCITE CONTROVERSY. IF WE IGNORE IT, LIKE A PETULANT LITTLE CHILD THEY LOSE INTEREST AND MOVE ON…
Luminosity
PlayWell, you have tried for a long time but it hasn’t worked, has it? I am stating an opinion that you may not agree with but for the sake for the children and minors, they need to be shielded from the easily accessible harmful porn. After 18, they are free to watch anything they want.
ElPillo
No credit card info from me, ever. And what exactly is “disgusting” porn material? If you are refering to underage, say so (that prohibition, I agree. I really don’t get the twink, young looking preference thing anyways).
Darsithis
Preventing underage porn consumption isn’t accomplished through a national registry of “porn watchers” that require re-verification like common criminals.
Want to help children avoid porn? It’s simple – engage parents in making sure their children are making responsible decisions online. Treating anyone who watches “disgusting” porn material like a criminal isn’t going to do that.
I know you’re probably trolling and getting a kick out of this.
iluzionist54
I cannot recall any death reports linked to watching porn among minors. Yet there were so many reports of mass killings performed by minors having FREE access not only guns, but assault weapons …
leopoldpk
Creating a nanny state never works.
Should we do the same for gun owners?
Should we require age verification for the Bible which is one of the most sick and degenerate works of fiction ever created?
techboysf
Every responsible parent monitors their kid’s internet use, and have nanny blockers in place. No need for a national registry. Sounds like Big Brother, where responsible parenting is the solution. I do wonder what’s become of kids who learned about sex through porn. I learned the old-fashioned way, through schoolyard gossip, Penthouse, and awkward “doctor” games.
Doctor Benway
Personnaly, i’d like to verify the IQ of dumb people like you before they write a comment somewhere on the net (would be more useful).
(By curiosity, did you start watching porn once you turn 18? Because i’m sure none of us did… and look at us, we’re all right, we’re even less stupid than you)
nitejonboy
What do you think teenagers magically grow penises at age 18 ? Do you think they don’t jerk off til then ? There’s nothing harmful about porn, if it’s used in moderation and safely. As long as the models aren’t underage, I see no problem in teenagers viewing porn.
HairyHunkBerlin
Well, you can just verify your age with a Credit Card or there are many other options. With tumblr, this is a total different story.
What they did was/is a disgusting censorship, starting with Bots which are flagging nearly everything (except Nazi Pages) with a one time chance to appeal. I had it several times that political Cartoons were flagged and even after my appeal made invisible from the “BIG BROTHER” Department.
They also manipulated the “Search”, the Hashtags and the results.
This is George Orwell’s 1984 colourised in 2019.
I still believe that there is much more behind the tumblr Desaster. This big Companies (Verizon and Yahoo) were testing how far they can go with manipulating the media. Anyway, my account at tumblr is still there, but it will never again what it was and I am happy at newtumbl.com
djmcgamester
Prohibition stopped people from drinking. Right? Or maybe not.
adje
Creditcard verification is a dead end. Look at the sorry attempt the Brits just made at this: most EU countries will not ever impose it, so most international sites remain accessible, also from the UK with VPN. Kids can use dad’s creditcard, it’s just silly! Besides since the demise of Tumblr most adult content just moved to Twitter. Will they place adult verification on twitter? Don’t think so, as politicians are the most dedicated users there.
Birdbrain1963
And if you are a poor 56 year old without a credit card? then?????????????
Ttrotski
That’s the responsibility of their parent/s.
ptseti
STFU you pompous ass….National database for what? Is there one for guns? STFU . Obviously you seem to be Republican who hides and watches porn and then goes to church sitting in the front pew , bible in hand and shouting PRAISE THE LORD…..HYPOCRITE!!!
LostMyClothesAgain
The first and fourth amendments to the U.S. Constitution guarantee the right to free speech and privacy. These rights extend to all ages.
ingyaom
… and the 2nd guarantees the right to join a well-regulated militia … if any exist.
Mack
If a minor wants to see porn (without a credit card) there are thousands sites out there. Many learn about sex from these sites since their parents, or school won’t teach them. They’re busy living in a world that thinks abstinence actually works, and many in the “red states”. That’s why the “red states” have the highest porn viewership.
Luminosity
We have laws to require all drivers to have a valid driver’s license in order to drive but the laws can’t stop every criminal from driving in a dangerous way. Does that mean the driver’s license laws are useless or unnecessary? Of course not. The laws are there so that they can be enforced to prosecute those who violate the laws.
dwes09
Federal and state laws already require porn sites to keep age verification on file for models and actors. Parents have the ability monitor and control the sites their children visit through many apps. And it is clearly the parents’ responsibility in this case.
Ronbo
@Luminosity
You must be MASSIVE if you think dicks, like cars, need have a license to operate. Mine works quite safely – unlicensed and all.
There are laws already on the books regarding violations. Fantasy regulation seems a bit prudish. What’s next? Modem burning? Scarlet triangles?
djmcgamester
@Luminosity: You’re moralizing. This is not the equivalent of driving. How would you have managed in eras where orgies were okay? Frowned upon, but NBD. Could you survive in an era of families in a one-room (or one bedroom) home? In the past, parents had sex in the presence of their children because that was the only option.
It’s only in recent times that sex became “bad” while violence became “good”. Do you similarly ask for credit card information on explicitly violent content found on the internet? If not, you’re a hypocrite. I’d wager violence is FAR worse than sex. Check your Bible. It’s full of murder, rape and genocide.
gaygeezer
Oh please, who here was still a virgin at 19, or 18, or 21, or whatever? Any child of 8 who can operate a DVD player can watch blood killing of children for sport (Hunger Games), or any number of TV and films that wallow in sexual violence, and all with better filmography, music, and special effects. I remember being aroused at age 7 by a whipping scene in the original TV Flash Gordon series (in glorious black in white, yes, I’m that old), and all I had to do was turn a dial. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the legal definition of pornography is “having no socially redeeming qualities” (I’m paraphrasing). But apparently there is some socially redemptive benefit for children to watch positively-rewarded acts of violence an average of every two minutes on cartoon shows produced for children. I was gonna say ‘don’t get me started’ but it’s far too late. (Buster Crabbe, stretched shirtless and sweating between two ornate pillars, and the crack of the whip…be still, my heart..)
dwes09
To many people (look at “luminosity”) sex is poison to the minds of children. Violence and aggression, not so much. That is why you can show imagery on network TV that is undeniably violence porn, but a gay kiss makes american blood boil with anger.
Look at that “Passion of the Christ” film, universally panned by critics as snuff porn, but the “Righteous” lined up to watch it, some many times. But to have to talk to their children because they saw two men holding hands! God Forbid!
STAMBOUL
“I remember being aroused at age 7 by a whipping scene in the original TV Flash Gordon series” LOL!
CurtisIsTheOne
I thought the poster said he was aroused at age 7 by a whipped cream scene in Flash Gordon. I’m guessing the film was rated D (for dessert).
TimberWolf
Treating a consumer who views adult porngraphy like a criminal or sex offender by registering names in a national database is ridiculous. Videos/ websites are content controlled by the viewers. If you do not like a program on television, you turn the channel, you do not like a channel you do not watch it. It is the consume and site that needs to control and edit the content before go live ,this being minors in adult content, which is disgusting and illegal. What is controlled by parents is what minors are watching, it is the parents responsibility to know what their children are watching and sites they are frequenting, just as it is the parents responsibility with a gun in the house keep it out of the hands of a minor. Most minors know more about sex and the real life while most parents live in denial of what they think their children do not know.
jthomasmpls
If “banning “ sexually explicit images killed traffic to Tumblr, imagine what personal information and a credit card will do to the traffic.
As a parent, it’s up to the parent to parent. Not big brother.
Luminosity
What about parents who work two jobs and have no time for their kids? Absent parents? Abusive parents? Single parents? Foster parents? Uneducated parents? Clueless parents? Sadly not every parent is loving and caring or tech savvy enough to know how to deal with the harmful porn problem. These days we can’t rely solely on parents to do their job. The government needs to do its job to protect our minors.
dwes09
Their children already have enough issues.
The imaginary notion that sexual imagery (as opposed to abuse, sexual abuse, corporal punishment) is intrinsically harmful is at best minor.
And there is software that lets parents restrict sites on every browser.
Please try to reconnect with reality, you must live in a very bizarre imaginary world where everything is “dirty” and anyone not just like you nasty and perverse.
techboysf
We’ve said enough counter-arguments. The debate is laid out for posterity, time to close it.
jdbev
I say let the kids have a wank. It’s better than them knocking someone up. There are already too many people on this earth.
draven
Hot black guy in that picture lol
Prax07
I’d like to see, instead of an idiotic national porn registry, a national “parent” registry. Limit the amount of kids two adults can have to two. The parents would be jailed and fined for going over the limit, and any “extra” illegal child/children placed for adoption. There are far too many people now, there are far too many people just pumping out as many as they possibly can. There are far too many idiots reproducing as well. If one dies your allowed another. No more of these welfare families with entire platoons of kids. That sort of national registry I’d be all over supporting.
Ronbo
Yes! I’m still mourning the young boy who told his doctor “My mommy didn’t mean to hurt me” before he was killed by his mommy.
HairyHunkBerlin
The easiest way is to move the Server to a Country were the Laws are not so strict. It is called WWW (World Wide Web). One Country can not make laws which are valid for the World.
winemaker
This is for Luminosity: Sadly, this place is getting more and more like russia and china with all the bans on free non violent speech. Last time I heard about this there was something called the constitution that some politicians want to abolish, I don’t think so! As for having to give a credit card for access, i disagree. i did this once despite being told my card wouldn’t be charged, and as you might guess my credit card got charged, several times! And it was hell to get resolved and i ended up closing the credit card due to fraud. Also, just what does having a credit card do to prove you’re over 18?
Ronbo
If Luminosity wants to register with the state, maybe he should. The ones crying the loudest are often the ones doing the damage. Just look at the number of anti-gay politicians who are just closeted gays trying to conceal their sexuality.
draven
Tumblr RIP. Ppl have moved on……