Apple App Store removes Tumblr after child pornography appears on site

Tumblr has been removed from the Apple App Store for keeping child pornographic content. The platform issued a statement confirming the same.

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Given that the content was based on child pornography, Tumblr would not only have to adhere to Apple’s App Store guidelines, but also with law enforcement agencies.

Apple removed Tumblr from the App Store for holding child abuse videos, as reported by Download.com. This report cites a statement from Tumblr about its delisting, that was first spotted on Friday. At the time, it had reported that it is ‘resolving issues’ with the iOS version of its app.

As per the statement, a Tumlbr executive was reported saying, “Every image uploaded to Tumblr is scanned against an industry database of known child sexual abuse material, and images that are detected never reach the platform. A routine audit discovered content on our platform that had not yet been included in the industry database.”

Given that the content was based on child pornography, Tumblr’s app was not only in violation of Apple’s App Store guidelines, but also of the US federal laws. In this case, removal was triggered by the violation of App Store terms and conditions.

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One of the organisations Tumblr cites in its statement is the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), that monitors content related to online child sexual exploitation that are present across platforms.

It clarified that in the case of Tumblr, classified as an electronics service provider, such content should be separated with hashes, that will be subject to review, and possible removal from the service.

Also read: WhatsApp Sticker apps removed from App Store

Tumblr has been caught previously for hosting pornographic content on its platform. Recently, in 2017, the South Korean government had asked the platform to remove certain offensive clips, hoping that they would regulate the same. Earlier this year, Tumblr had been blocked by the Indonesian government, for failing to comply with a request to remove pornographic content.