Say goodbye to free porn on Tumblr.

 

The microblogging site announced that it will no longer be allowing adult content, and promised to start removing it this month.

 

Founded in 2007, the site always seemed open to adult-themed material, happily hosting nudity, blogs by sex workers and lots and lots of pornography.

 

The move may have something to do with last month's ban of the Tumblr app in the Apple store. Apple accused Tumblr of not doing enough to keep child pornography off its network. Tumblr promised to do better.

 

Now Tumblr’s chief executive, Jeff D’Onofrio, is speaking out, explaining that as the site has grown so too has its responsibility to "different age groups, demographics, cultures, and mindsets.” With that in mind, Tumblr will remove all adult content starting on December 17.

 

“We spent considerable time weighing the pros and cons of expression in the community that includes adult content. In doing so, it became clear that without this content we have the opportunity to create a place where more people feel comfortable expressing themselves,” he argued.

 

“Bottom line: There are no shortage of sites on the internet that feature adult content. We will leave it to them and focus our efforts on creating the most welcoming environment possible for our community.”

 

What will be removed? Anything that shows "real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples," as well as depictions of sex. 

 

Not all mature material will be targeted. "Written content such as erotica, nudity related to political or newsworthy speech, and nudity found in art, such as sculptures and illustrations" is all safe.

 

Of course, most of Tumblr's porn content is actually pirated material. Having a big company like this refuse to carry it anymore may be frustrating to the site's users, but it is certainly a small win for actual porn companies trying to make money.