Google bans porn from Blogger

Google has announced that users of its Blogger platform will no longer be able to publicly share sexually explicit or nude videos or images on their blogs.

In an announcement that was sent out to bloggers who use the company’s blogging website, Google  said people will no longer be able to “publicly share images and video that are sexually explicit or show graphic nudity” on Blogger as of March 23.

Google said those Blogger sites that continue to host pornography after March 23 will be made “private.” That means the content will be allowed to remain up, but it will only be accessible to the site’s owner and the people who the user directly shared the blog with.

Google noted that it isn’t completely banning nudity from being shown publicly on Blogger. The site will allow nudity “if the content offers a substantial public benefit, for example in artistic, educational, documentary, or scientific contexts.” But it also puts Google in the position of deciding what is art and what is pornography — a decision that Instagram and other sites have struggled with.