Pornographic content may soon be returning to the blogging platform Tumblr.
The site saw a massive drop in traffic when it banned adult content last year, and now Verizon—who own Tumblr—is reportedly trying to sell it, according to a Wall Street Journal story.
In an email to Buzzfeed News a vice president for Pornhub—one of the internet’s most visited pornographic websites—said, “We’ve long been dismayed that such measures were taken to eradicate erotic communities on the platform, leaving many individuals without an asylum through which they could comfortably peruse adult content.”
He added, “We’re extremely interested in acquiring the platform and are very much looking forward to one day restoring it to its former glory with NSFW content.”
Tumblr has a fraught history with pornography. Adult content has been one of the cornerstones of the online community, particularly within LGBT groups, women and queer communities. The pornography ban on the site, which took place last December, wasn’t well-implemented either. In fact, in the wake of the ban, some speculate engagement went up due to the ban’s inconsistent ability to flag adult content.
Pornhub seems to have been targeting Tumblr for some time. They released a tweet after the pornography ban encouraging dissatisfied Tumblr users to visit their site. The Pornhub VP said: “There are obvious synergies between the two brands and value Pornhub could derive from Tumblr. We’re extremely interested in acquiring the platform and are very much looking forward to one day restoring it to its former glory with NSFW content.”
