Tumblr is lifting its four-year ban on nudity – sending Twitter users into a frenzy after claims surfaced that Elon Musk plans to start charging for videos, including explicit content
- Tumblr is lifting its four-year ban on creations featuring nudity
- The site banned the adult content in 2018 following a child pornography issue
- People will be able to view nudity for free on Tumblr, which has sparked an uproar on Twitter as users realize that Twitter is charging them to access the content
Tumblr announced that nudity is allowed on the platform for the first time since it was banned in 2018 — a move that comes just hours after Elon Musk plans to start charging for video content on Twitter, which some speculate is content for adults are shown.
The microblogging site banned adult content after its app was removed from Apple’s App Store due to a child pornography incident.
Reinstatement allows users to view creations with nudity, adult themes, and sexual themes for free, while Twitter’s option comes at a cost.
Tumblr’s announcement has sparked excitement among users, who joke while Twitter is asking users to pay for a blue tick, Tumblr is offering free nudes.
Tumblr lifts its four-year ban on nudity and allows users to share creations with mature themes and sexual themes that are free to watch
However, the updated Community Guidelines indicate that “visual depictions of sexually explicit acts” are not allowed on Tumblr, likely due to the child pornography problem it faced four years ago.
Former Tumblr CEO Jeff D’Onofrio said in 2018 that the company carefully weighed the pros and cons before making its decision to remove adult content, and that users who wanted to watch porn “didn’t have one lack” of other places to visit.
Years later, Tumblr has changed its tune in a surprising move that now sees it rival the social media powerhouses.
Users flocked to Twitter to share their take on Tumblr’s move, just hours before Elon Musk is reportedly planning a paid video feature that could include adult content
Users are thrilled that Tumblr is once again allowing nudity on the site. However, the updated Community Guidelines indicate that “visual depictions of sexually explicit acts” are not allowed on Tumblr, likely due to the child pornography problem it faced four years ago
The platform’s new community guidelines state that nudity in the form of videos, images, GIFs, drawings, CGI or similar is welcome, but such media depicting sexually explicit acts may not be posted.
“We hope this shift creates more space for artistic expression to thrive on Tumblr, while also giving each of you the opportunity to create your own experiences and safely explore and discover the things you love,” it says in the updated version.
However, Tumblr notes that adult-themed blogs may not be eligible for certain features, including monetization options.
Regardless, users are excited about the announcement, with some saying, “It’s time for Tumblr to rise from the ashes.”
Another joke is that Twitter offers paid blue ticks, while Tumblr lets you “get free nudes.”
Tumblr’s move comes just hours before news broke that Musk was “working on plans to charge users for watching video content on Twitter — Twitter is already one of the few social media sites to promote nudity and… Pornography can be posted.
Another Twitter user quipped that Twitter offers blue ticks for a price, but you can get free nudes on Tumblr
According to the Washington Post, a received internal Twitter email revealed the plans: “If a creator creates a tweet with a video, once a video is added to the tweet, the creator can enable the paywall.”
The proposed move would mean creators who are already posting explicit clips could set up their own paywalls and charge just $1 for people to watch their adult footage.
Twitter already hosts a thriving exchange of pornographic images, which make up about 13 percent of all content on the site, internal company data showed earlier this year.
The creator would then receive an amount of money — reportedly up to $10 — from any user who pays for their video content, with Twitter also getting an unspecified cut.
According to a mockup of what the feature might look like, the paywall content was obscured with a lock icon and the message “View for $1”.