Tumblr may be sold to Pornhub after porn ban leads to huge traffic drop
LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty
Tumblr owner Verizon is reportedly looking to sell the website due to declining revenues just months after they controversially banned adult content.
One of the interested buyers is Pornhub, who told Buzzfeed News that—if they make the purchase—they would restore Tumblr to its former porn-filled glory.
Pornhub Vice President Corey Price told Buzzfeed that Tumblr was “a save haven for those who wanted to explore and express their sexuality.”
“We’ve long been dismayed that such measures were taken to eradicate erotic communities on the platform,” Price continued.
Tumblr had become known within the LGBT+ community as a safe space to view and share porn
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday (May 2) that Verizon was seeking a buyer for the website as the business was failing to make money.
The move marks just the latest in a long and complicated history for the blogging platform. Tumblr was sold in 2013 for $1.1 billion to Yahoo. In 2016, its value was estimated at just $230 million.
“We’ve long been dismayed that such measures were taken to eradicate erotic communities on the platform.”
– Pornhub Vice President Corey Price
Yahoo was subsequently purchased by Oath, which later changed its name to Verizon.
Tumblr had become known by many in the LGBT+ community as a safe haven for queer people to view and share porn. Queer people were shocked and disappointed when Tumblr unexpectedly announced last December that it would ban all adult content from December 17.
The policy prohibits “photos, videos, or GIFs that show real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples.”
The website reportedly made the decision after their app was briefly removed from Apple’s App Store after child porn was discovered on its service.
Rob Kim/Getty Images
Tumblr’s traffic dropped by 150 million after its porn ban came into effect
In a Tumblr post, the company’s CEO Jeff D’Onofrio told users that the ban was meant to ensure the platform would be “a safe place for creative expression, self-discovery, and a deep sense of community.
“As Tumblr continues to grow and evolve, and our understanding of our impact on our world becomes clearer, we have a responsibility to consider that impact across different age groups, demographics, cultures, and mindsets,” he added.
However, the move did no favours for the website’s business. According to analytics website SimilarWeb, the website’s traffic subsequently dropped by 150 million. It marked a 29 percent decrease in website traffic.
In December, LGBT+ pornographers told PinkNews that Tumblr’s porn ban would “further marginalise” the queer community.
Artist and filmmaker Courtney Trouble, who was a major figure in the birth of the queer porn movement in the US, said: “The Tumblr ban on adult content will affect 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.”
She added: “Without social media that allows this kind of exploration, we are losing a lot.”
