Google Bans Sexually Explicit Content From Websites Hosted On Blogger

Attention all bloggers with adult content or who plan on posting adult content, Google is banning adult content from websites hosted on Blogger from next month, after the company updated regulations governing the use of media on its blogging service.

A company support page for Blogger explains that “starting March 23, 2015, you won’t be able to publicly share images and video that are sexually explicit or show graphic nudity on Blogger.” Global News reports that emails were sent to Blogger users informing them of the policy change.

Google isn’t actually deleting any salacious websites, however. Blogs that fall foul of the new policy will be made private after March 23, Google said, unless they remove the content in question. That means they will be invisible to anyone but the blog owner and any associated admins. That said, new blogs created from March 23 that include sexually explicit material may be straight up deleted, the company explained.

There is a small caveat:

“We’ll still allow nudity if the content offers a substantial public benefit, for example in artistic, educational, documentary, or scientific contexts,” Google said.

It appears that the internet giant will be in charge of interpreting exceptions that fall under that rule, so don’t expect many allowances to be made.

The current policy allows sexual material (so long as it is legal) on a blog, which is then marked with an ‘adult’ warning for any visitors.

Google didn’t say why it has made the change, and a company rep declined to provide further details to TechCrunch when we reached out to seek clarification.

The company’s last significant policy change for Blogger came in 2013, when it cracked down on Blogger-hosted sites that monetized adult content. Now it is removing adult content from the network altogether.

Source: TechCrunch