Tumblr is taking a stance against unwanted sexual posts on its site. In a post explaining coming updates to its community guidelines, Tumblr staff explained that they would begin cracking down on images shared non-consensually, such as deepfake porn and creepshots.
“Posting sexually explicit photos of people without their consent was never allowed on Tumblr, but with the invention of deepfakes and the proliferation of non-consensual creepshots, we are updating our Community Guidelines to more clearly address new technologies that can be used to humiliate and threaten other people,” the post explains.
Tumblr is instituting a number of other changes, as well, including making its policies around hate speech and the glorification of violence more specific. For the former, its previous guidelines mostly talked about “negative speech” in loose terms.
The policy now reads, “Don’t encourage violence or hatred. Don’t post content for the purpose of promoting or inciting the hatred of, or dehumanizing, individuals or groups based on race, ethnic or national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, disability or disease.”
The previous language also only called on users to report behavior if it was “especially heinous.” Tumblr now asks users to report potential hate speech any time it’s encountered. Tumblr also added language to address posts that include mentions of threats, mutilation, gore, and other violent content.
The new rules go into effect on Sept. 10.
After being acquired by Yahoo in 2013, Tumblr is now owned by Verizon (which acquired Yahoo last summer). Shortly after its first acquisition, its new owners cracked down on all-adult content on the site—a move that was not met happily by Tumblr users. This latest change, with regards to deepfake porn and creepshots, shouldn’t fully disrupt this aspect of the Tumblr community but rather ensure it’s a safe space populated with only consensual images.
H/T BBC News