Google has rescinded its decision to effectively ban all sexually explicit content on its Blogger platform.
Earlier this week, Blogger users were informed that Google would no longer be allowing ‘graphic nude images or video’ on the site.
This rule was set to come into effect from March 23, however it seems that the big G has had a change of heart.
Jessica Pelegio, Google’s Social Product Support Manager, wrote a blog post earlier today detailing the decision’s reversal.
“We’ve had a ton of feedback, in particular about the introduction of a retroactive change (some people have had accounts for 10 plus years),” wrote Pelegio. “But also about the negative impact on individuals who post sexually explicit content to express their identities.”
“So rather than implement this change, we’ve decided to step up enforcement about our existing policy prohibiting commercial porn.”
Google’s Blogger terms of service already outline an existing ban on the service being used to distribute commercial pornography, i.e. for significant monetary gain.
It seems that rather than shutting out all amateur internet exhibitionists, Google will instead focus its efforts on a crackdown against commercial smut distributors.
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Pelegio offered some further advice to help keep existing adult pages safe from any recourse.
“Blog owners should continue to mark any blogs containing sexually explicit content as ‘adult’ so that they can be placed behind an ‘adult conte’t warning page,” she wrote.
“Bloggers whose content is consistent with this and other policies do not need to make any changes to their blogs.”
The original ban did allow a loophole for nudity that offered a ‘substantial public benefit, for example in artistic, educational, documentary, or scientific contexts.’
News and link sharing service Reddit has also recently confirmed it will be clamping down on smut by banning posts containing stolen nudes and revenge porn.