Pornhub Admits It's Hot to Acquire Tumblr

CYBERSPACE—Hey, remember way back in 2018 when Congress passed the odious FOSTA/SESTA legislation, and pretty much everybody that allowed sexy material on their website got worried that the feds would come after them for "promoting" sex trafficking just for even discussing porn or sex work? And remember how, last fall, several online destinations like Facebook and Tumblr, whose business models are all about people posting their thoughts, feelings and photos, some of which could be quite sexy, decided to crack down on all the "sex stuff" and remove it from their sites? Well, fast-forward about six months, and according to Buzzfeed News, "Pornhub Vice President Corey Price said in an email to BuzzFeed News that the porn-streaming giant is extremely interested in buying Tumblr." Tumblr is currently owned by Verizon, which it got in the same deal in which it acquired Yahoo, and rumors have been circulating that Verizon would just as soon be rid of the site—especially since, according to Forbes correspondent Curtis Silver, "Tumblr was a place where the internet is truly free, where people could rant, live, share and engage with themselves and the world without worrying about corporate oversight and judgement. That changed, and now Tumblr is a used car on blocks in the yard. The porn ban nearly destroyed the platform and was not well received." In fact, The Verge reported in mid-March that Tumblr traffic has decreased by at least 30 percent since the "no porn" announcement was made, noting that at the time, Tumblr CEO Jeff D'Onofrio stated, "There are no shortage of sites on the internet that feature adult content." Yeah, right! In fact, one of the effects of Tumblr's announcement that it would remove sexy photos and videos from its site has been that Pornhub was ready, willing and able to pick up that orphaned content and all its creators to bring them all to Pornhub, where they could not only show the content once again but make some money on it: "Creators learn more how to earn ad revenue, sell content and even get paid subscribers in your Fan Club where you can give exclusive perks. ... You could always upload art and photos," wrote Pornhub Aria on Twitter on December 4, just one day after Tumblr's anti-porn announcement. "You can create a curated stream and gain subscribers. Even launch a fan club and have people pay monthly for exclusive art, videos, and other perks." "Tumblr was a safe haven for those who wanted to explore and express their sexuality, adult entertainment aficionados included," Pornhub's Price told Forbes' Silver in an email. "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 are obvious synergies between the two brands and value Pornhub could derive from Tumblr. We’re extremely interested in acquiring the platform and are very much looking forward to one day restoring it to its former glory with NSFW content." So get ready, all you Tumblr orphans: Your photo/video creations may be about to find a new home—on a new, revamped version of the original Tumblr site!