Tumblr’s ban on pornography goes into effect today. The company is using algorithms to automatically flag adult content. This has resulted in some hilarious missteps, like having images of raw chicken flagged for porn.
Starting December 17 Tumblr’s algorithms will start removing content that meet the following criteria: Any photo, video, or GIF that show real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples, and any content—including photos, videos, GIFs and illustrations—that depicts sex acts.
Check It Out: Reminder: Tumblr’s Raw Chicken Ban Goes Into Effect Today
Disclaimer I’ve been on Tumblr for at least five years.
Yes there were bugs at first, but the algorithms are getting better. Tumblr has stated their policies clearly, and have a process for appealing any flagged posts. The data from both reported NSFW content and erroneously flagged posts is going back into improve the algorithms.
We’ve all had fun slagging on Tumblr in the last couple of weeks. But in the end they are doing the right thing in the right way. They are cleaning up some material that sorely needed to be removed, but allowing space for other uses that rely on the platform.