Google Hopes To Avoid Facebook Censorship Criticism In Removing NSFW Content From Blogger

Google has announced that, starting on March 23, it will no longer allow sexually explicit content on Blogger, its popular blog publishing service. The move comes amid Google’s push for more family-friendly apps and also coincides with mounting criticism of Facebook’s policy on sexual images, which critics say is enforced unfairly.

“If your existing blog doesn't have any sexually explicit or graphic nude images on it, you won't notice any changes,” Google said in a policy update. “If your existing blog does have sexually explicit or graphic nude images or video, your blog will be made private after March 23, 2015. No content will be deleted, but private content can only be seen by the owner or admins of the blog and the people who the owner has shared the blog with.”

Google also asked blog owners who post explicit material to list their site as “Adult,” otherwise the company will do it for them. What exactly compelled the change wasn't immediately clear, although it comes immediately after Google introduced the YouTube Kids app, an attempt to make Google more of a destination for children.

Nor was it clear who, or what, would be charged with deciding what constitutes “sexually explicit” material and what doesn't. The Google announcement was careful to note Blogger “will still allow nudity if the content offers a substantial public benefit, for example in artistic, educational, documentary, or scientific contexts.” Blogger has previously allowed sexually explicit content as long as it was hidden behind a pop-up warning.

Facebook, meanwhile, has caught flack for its own version of this policy, with a range of social media users criticizing the site for removing a picture of two gay men kissing. (Facebook later said the removal was due to a technical glitch.) The Facebook-owned Instagram took even more heat when the "break the Internet" photo of Kim Kardashian was widely available, though when users posted images of themselves in a similar stance to mock Kardashian the pictures were censored.

“Just so I'm clear, Instagram.... It's OK to use nudity to sexualize yourself on your site but not to make a joke?” wrote comedian Chelsea Handler, who's had a number of run-ins with Instagram. “I'm so so confused.”