MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – PornHub is interested in taking over the reins of Tumblr, following news from the Wall Street Journal that Verizon is looking to sell the creative platform.

PornHub President Corey Price told BuzzFeed News via email that it was interested in buying Tumblr, as it “was a safe haven for those who wanted to explore and express their sexuality, adult entertainment aficionados included.”

“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,” Price added. Tumblr users who posted adult content were left without an online home following a 2018 ban on adult content on the platform.

Price continued, “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.”

Mixed reactions

Reaction to the idea of PornHub parent company MindGeek acquiring Tumblr appear mixed. 

Forbes writer AJ Dellinger said Tumblr joining PornHub could make the platform a safe space for discussing sexuality, which it was able to do before.

Additionally, PornHub’s adoption of technology could also spur Tumblr to greater heights in the mobile sector, as it has a command of building sites and services on mobile.

TechCrunch’s Josh Contine is more critical in a 2019 article titled “Why you don’t want Tumblr sold to exploitative Pornhub,” explaining that MindGeek and its business – which is said to include other properties such as porn-sharing sites YouPorn, RedTube, and GayTube, and popular production studios Brazzers and Digital Playground – have made it “tough for performers to earn a living.”

Likely as a response to the article, MindGeek has told TechCrunch that it has anti-piracy efforts in place amounting to $2 million annually, but TechCrunch says that that’s a fraction of what it makes.

MindGeek has also said that they work with Vobile, a provider of video content identification, to “quickly monitor high volumes of content to detect the presence of any unauthorized material.” MindGeek has been disputing piracy and monopoly accusations – including those from a heavily critical 2014 article from Slate called “Vampire Porn” – saying that “there is no room in our model for the assumption that content is pirated,” and that there are other large porn companies in the world, not just them. – Rappler.com