Tumblr has seen quite a few different owners in the past few years. In 2013, the online blogging platform was sold to Yahoo for $1.1 billion in hopes that it’d make the company relevant on the internet once again. That didn’t really work out because Yahoo itself was acquired by Verizon in 2017.
It’s clear that Verizon has never really known what to do with Tumblr. Last year, Verizon banned all pornography and sexually explicit content on Tumblr after finding child pornography on the platform.
Critics of the move argue that Verizon could have worked to crack down on the exploitation of minors specifically because Tumblr was pretty well-known for its not-safe-for-work (NSFW) scene. Since the ban, Mashable reported that Tumblr lost almost a third of its users.
Now, Verizon is looking to sell Tumblr, according to The Verge — and one company is already expressing interest. In a statement to BuzzFeed News, Corey Price, Vice President of Pornhub, said his company was “extremely interested” in buying Tumblr and restoring its “NSFW edge.”
“Tumblr was a safe haven for those who wanted to explore and express their sexuality, adult entertainment aficionados included,” Price told BuzzFeed News. “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.”
There’s no word on whether or not Pornhub has made an official offer. However, Verizon’s original ban was poorly implemented. The AI system began flagging non-pornographic content, and the original issue still remains.
If Pornhub purchased Tumblr to reverse its porn ban, the company would need a plan of its own for preventing child pornography and other forms of sexual exploitation.
