According to Tumblr, This is Adult Content
That’s how high they’re drawing the line. They actually flagged this photo as “adult content.” Enjoy it while it lasts.
It and all other “adult content” will be removed from Tumblr December 17.
I understand that they had to do something. They have been removed from the Apple App Store, that notorious nunnery of Victorian sexual repression. Apple had them over a barrel. Without the App Store they would take what might have been a fatal hit. A complete ban is a curious reaction, given that a huge portion of their users are here solely for adult content. Everyone has noticed that and made a precious lot of fun of them for it. It seems highly likely, then, the change is a result of an ultimatum by Apple that if Tumblr wanted back on the App Store it all had to go.
As always, this change has a disproportionate impact on gay male users. Gay sex is bad. It’s gross. They actually lick buttholes. Eliminating it is a virtue. There just aren’t as many easy gay porn options as there are with straight porn. And I will assure you the censor-bots will be much less forgiving of images on male-oriented blogs.
Tumblr got in hot water because “child pornography” was discovered on the platform. The problem is that what YOU think is “child pornography” and what the federal government and Apple think is “child pornography” are two very different things.
The image you have in your mind of “child pornography” is disgusting, freaky shit involving prepubescent children, who are being victimized by adults in situations where they are powerless to resist, probably involving sexual molestation, and maybe even child sex trafficking. The feds consider that stuff “child pornography” too, and possession of or creation of sexualized images of children under the age of 12 carries very heavy penalties indeed.
But you may not be aware that US law also considers any sexualized image of a person under the age of 18 as “child pornography.” The age of consent in your state is 16? That’s irrelevant. They look 18? Irrelevant. And what is a “sexualized image, you may ask?” Pretty much any nudity. A dick pic is clearly a “sexualized image.” The 17-yo person sent you the pic and claimed they were 21 and they looked it? Too bad. It’s a strict liability offense. You’re a sex offender.
Bizarely, 17 year olds have been convicted of possessing “child pornography,” under state laws carrying heavy, heavy penalties, including sex offender registry, FOR HAVING NUDE PICTURES OF THEMSELVES ON THEIR OWN PHONES! Unbelievably, they are being prosecuted as both perpetrator and victim of the same crime. How this can pass constitutional muster is beyond me. But no court is going to touch it. These perverts have been convicted of having digusting, vile “child pornography.” Never mind that the person convicted was over the age of consent at the time. Old enough to fuck. Too young to have a picture of it. It’s nuts.
So a set of federal and state laws that were designed to protect children from molestation are being used to molest horny teenagers engaging in sexting, a practice so widespread as to be virtually universal.
For adults, violations of the law are clear cut. If a 17-yo pursues you on Grindr, and they send you a dick pic, both you and they have engaged in dissemination of “child pornography.”
In the US it does not matter if the images sent through sexting were part of a consensual trade. For an adult it does not matter that they had a reasonable belief the person was over 18.
Draconian US “child pornography” laws are outrageous. A 16 year old living in a state with a 16-year age of majority is not exploiting a minor by sending a naked pic of himself. How can he? He can legally have sex with a 35-yo if he wishes.
Europe takes a different view. The age that matters is the age of consent, which in a third of European countries is 14. In the vast majority of European countries, the age is no more than 15. Ireland has the highest, at 17.
I suspect the European laws have caused some of the “child pornography” trouble for Tumblr. A 14-yo kid from German can legally have photos of 14-year olds. If he posts them on Tumblr, he’s posted “child pornography,” and he has violated Tumblr rules (Tumblr has to comply with US law), and anyone in the US who has one of those pics is a sick individual who collects “child pornography,” and they can be prosecuted and end up on the sex offender registry.
We are a stupid, puritanic country, undergoing a “purification,” brought on by religious fundamentalists who think “the gays” will be the downfall of civilization. Don’t expect to see any rational reworking of ”child pornography” laws to reflect any reasonable version of reality any time soon. If anything they will be made even more draconian. Our country is being taken over by the American version of ISIS. Same agenda. Different dress. At least they aren’t yet throwing us off the top of tall buildings.
So look at this picture. Is it “adult content?” Certainly not. Tumblr says it is. That’s how insane this is.
2loud 