14 DAY TRIAL // The official Tumblr app for iOS went dark all of a sudden a few days ago, and while neither the parent company nor Apple provided statements on what exactly happened, it was believed the app served some sort of illegal content that violated the App Store guidelines.
And as it turns out, this is precisely the cause of the app removal, with Tumblr revealing in a statement for CNET that their official iOS client was taken down by Apple after it was discovered the app served child pornography.
By the looks of things, the infringing content somehow got past Tumblr’s filters and was shared throughout the service, despite the company working with partners specifically to block this kind of content.
Android version not removed
However, Tumblr says it has already removed the content and is now working with Apple on restoring the app in the App Store.
“We’re committed to helping build a safe online environment for all users, and we have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to media featuring child sexual exploitation and abuse. As this is an industry-wide problem, we work collaboratively with our industry peers and partners like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to actively monitor content uploaded to the platform. 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,” Tumblr said in a lengthy statement.
“A routine audit discovered content on our platform that had not yet been included in the industry database. We immediately removed this content. Content safeguards are a challenging aspect of operating scaled platforms. We’re continuously assessing further steps we can take to improve and there is no higher priority for our team.”
An ETA as to when the app could be re-released to users on iPhone and iPad isn’t yet available, but it’s expected to show up once again for download sometime this week.
In the meantime, despite the illegal content shared on Tumblr, the official app remains available for download on the Google Play Store. Google hasn’t provided a statement regarding this incident.