Google Bans Porn From Blogger Site, Quickly Reverses

The inability of bloggers to post pornography on their blogs can have a "negative impact" on them.

That's according to Google, which said Friday that it had reversed an earlier decision this week to prohibit most pornographic content from its Blogger platform by March 23.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

"We’ve had a ton of feedback, in particular about the introduction of a retroactive change (some people have had accounts for 10+ years), but also about the negative impact on individuals who post sexually explicit content to express their identities," Jessica Pelegio, Google's social product support manager, wrote in an online user forum.

Pelegio said that instead of changing its entire policy, Google has instead decided to "step up" its existing rules that prohibit commercial pornography. Bloggers who post sexually explicit content will still need to mark their pages "adult," which will prompt an "adult content" warning page before other users can see it.

The reversal comes after the Internet giant on Monday emailed a number of users whose "account[s] may be affected by this policy change," saying that most pornographic content would be banned.

"In the coming weeks, we'll no longer allow blogs that contain sexually explicit or graphic nude images or videos," the email stated. "We'll still allow nudity presented in artistic, educational, documentary or scientific contexts or where there are other substantial benefits to the public from not taking action on the content.

Twitter user @F***Theory posted a screenshot of the entire email:

Image source: Twitter

(H/T: The Verge)

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