1 year since Tumblr’s adult ban. Twitter next?
It’s been exactly one year since Tumblr decided to ban adult content, and there are now increasing signs that more social networks are following, with Twitter being the most obvious.
A year ago, Tumblr decided to completely shut down NSFW content, despite multiple past promises that it would not do so. In this interview, when asked about the “porn problem”, Tumblr founder David Karp says: “We’ve taken a hard line on freedom of speech, supporting our users, creators… that’s not something we want to police”
It’s important to understand that Tumblr’s ban didn’t come all of a sudden. It first started as a content restriction policy that basically shadow-banned NSFW blogs (sounds familiar, Twitter and Instagram users?). What this meant was that you were effectively invisible to EVERYONE except your followers. But how would you gain new followers if nobody can discover your profile? Well, that’s exactly the issue with shadow-banning. Oh, and to add insult to injury, their spokesperson declared: “Tumblr’s longstanding policy regarding NSFW content has not changed and emphasizes the importance of free expression.” As we now know, that was complete bullshit!
LESSON 1: Social media enables creative freedom. Until they don’t anymore.
Although it’s been called a porn ban, it was actually much more than that. They fully banned any kind of nudity. Or, in their words, they banned “photos, videos, or GIFs that show real-life human genitals or female-presenting [!!!] nipples, and any content — including photos, videos, GIFs and illustrations — that depicts sex acts".
Tumblr created the space for sexually nonnormative people to see and be seen in ways they weren’t elsewhere. There were Tumblrs for those who identify as bears, furries, HIV-positive, bisexual, disabled, and fat; for people into S&M, pegging, and group masturbation. Whatever your body type or fetish, there was probably a Tumblr community for you. — The Atlantic
In social platforms’ crusade to fight adult content, they even restrict general terms like “gay” or “teen”, which they associate with sexual content. This is pure and simple direct discrimination against a diverse community. When neutral terms that people use to describe themselves are banned, their identities are negated. This is entering nazi territory.
LESSON 2: It’s not about porn. It’s about identity expression.
So what happened after Tumblr’s ban?
When you ruin so many people’s online presence and activity, this is sure to have a visible effect. And visible it was.
Tumblr lost almost a third of its traffic. It lost over 150 MILLION monthly visitors in a few short months.
Dozens of articles started recommending Tumblr alternatives, from blogging sites like WordPress and Blogger, to other mainstream platforms like Twitter and Reddit, to — and now we’re getting to the interesting part — adult-only social media sites like Sharesome and Switter.
In the wake of Tumblr’s ban, alot of NSFW alternatives popped up. Many are listed in this article. So what happened to these sites? Platforms were bragging they will “transcend” Tumblr, making it sound like they were overflowing with users. Among others, MojoFire, Cumblr, Explicitr, TumblrAlt, DarkCloud, TimbrXXX, Youllo, Swarmr, are ALL shut down.
The truth is those 150M users Tumblr lost didn’t all migrate to Sharesome or any of the NSFW alternatives. The vast majority of them went to social platforms they already knew, like Twitter and Reddit. But as Ralf predicted in this 2018 article, they are beginning to crack down on adult content.
And there is still Twitter and Reddit, at least until they ban NSFW content from their networks. The clock is ticking. — Ralf Kappe, Sharesome Founder
In May 2019, Reddit changed its Advertising Policy to disallow NSFW ads and targeting. “Ads for adult-oriented products and services on Reddit are no longer permissible, and Not Safe For Work (typically referred to as NSFW) subreddits will no longer be eligible for ads or targeting.” But the bigger story is now Twitter. More on this, next.
LESSON 3: You are not alone. We are many. We have to organise.
Out of all social networks, Twitter has been friendlier with adult creators and NSFW content. Not for long, apparently…
Twitter is taking steps in reducing the reach of sensitive (incl adult) content.
There’s been talk about a full Twitter Porn Ban starting January 2020. While this will probably NOT be the case, here’s what changed and how it can impact models and artists sharing their work on Twitter.
First, this is how they define Adult Content:
Although they explicitly mention “genitals, buttocks, or breasts”, the statement “intended to cause sexual arousal” is vague enough that it could include almost anything, from cleavage and tight clothes to feet and hair. So if you’re sharing sexy stuff (even excluding porn or full nudes), it’s still probably safe to voluntarily follow the rules related to Adult Content.
Ok, so what are the (new) rules?
- “If you share this content [adult] within your Tweets, you need to mark your account as sensitive. Doing so places images and videos behind an interstitial (or warning message).”
If you have ever shared, are sharing, or intend to share content that is intended to cause sexual arousal, got to your profile settings and mark your account as sensitive. If you’ve done this already, now’s a great time to double check.
- “You may not share adult content within live video or in profile or header images.”
Since adult content can be anything that is intended to cause sexual arousal, consider avoiding being too sexy (feels awful to say this) in your profile photos & header and in your live sessions.
- “Media depicting sexual violence is also not permitted. Violent sexual conduct is any media that depicts violence, whether real or simulated, in association with sexual acts.”
This policy could severely impact BDSM performers. Consensual violent sex is now against Twitter’s Terms.
- You can’t target people with unsolicited images or videos that contain adult content.
Don’t send people erotic content (in public replies or private messages), unless explicitly asked to.
- Your account may be permanently suspended if the majority of your activity on Twitter is sharing sensitive media.
This one of the most vague and chilling change in Twitter’s Terms of Service. We expect porn bots to be deleted first, but then where will the line be drawn? A model or artist sharing mainly (aka majority) adult content will be suspended? If so, this almost equates to a Porn Ban.
- We may also remove or refuse to distribute any Content on the Services, limit distribution or visibility of any Content on the service, suspend or terminate users, and reclaim usernames without liability to you.
In the past, Twitter declared that they don’t shadow-ban accounts. That turned out to be a lie, as we all know. Profiles sharing sensitive content have been and will continue to be shadow-banned in search results, hashtags, and other discovery areas of Twitter. With the above ToS changes, they are just admitting it publicly.
Ok, so now what?
Considering the vagueness of these new Twitter policies and the associated risks, most cautious adult creators create a “back-up” Twitter. Having one where you also share mostly sensitive media makes little sense, turning everything into a cat and mouse game, where Twitter is the cat.
In my opinion, it’s better to create a completely SFW (‘normie’) Twitter account where you never share any sensitive media. Don’t forget to link to it from your main account and link from it to your main account. Might be worth to tell your fans that you only have these 2 official accounts. It’s also important to make it under a very similar name as your main account, so that fans can easily find you in case of account suspension.
But your Plan B must also include building a presence on other platforms. If you’re a BDSM performer, Kink.com is a nice option. If you’re a full-service sex worker, Switter.at might be a good place. If you’re willing to spend time or money building your own website, that could also be a good idea. Amberly Rothfield says “in these times and really it has always been, having your own site is the most important thing for models”. She recommends HostGator, which offers one click installs for WordPress sites, and also suggests Elementor, a free solution if you want a drag and drop feel to your site.
But for all adult content creators and fans there is Sharesome.com, an adult social platform that, unlike mainstream networks, will NEVER hide, shadow-ban, or delete profiles and media “intended to cause sexual arousal”. Not only do we allow sexy content, but we highly encourage it.
Check out our wonderful Adult Stars: Sharesome.com/stars
Explore our diverse NSFW Topics: Sharesome.com/topics
