Since August, Google-owned Blogger has shut down over 200 gay porn blogs, even though its content policy clearly states that pornography and nudity is allowed.
What gives?
A techie quoted on Queerty suggests that it’s not an attempt by Google to clamp down on gay blogs. Apparently, Blogger shut down blogs that contained a buggy third-party widget, regardless of content.
But the gay blogosphere is taking note. One site is keeping track of all gay porn blogs closed by Blogger. As of Oct 2, the list contained over 200 blogs.
One of those blogs is Sissydude, a popular site run by Xtra’s John Webster, featuring hot pics of guys and Webster’s own artwork. Going to his site now brings up a page that reads: “This blog is in violation of Blogger’s Terms of Service and is open to authors only.” Webster says he received no warning that his blog was about to be shut down, and his repeated attempts to reach Blogger have gone unanswered.
And while Blogger reinstated service for some of the censored blogs, many aren’t taking the risk and are migrating to new hosting services. Webster has started a new Sissydude on Tumblr.
Check back soon for a full Xtra report on the Blogger / gay porn blog fiasco.
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