Pinterest Unsuccessfully Bans 'Thinspiration'

Less than a month after Tumblr updated their policies to prohibit any content that promotes self-harm (including anorexia and bulimia), Pinterest is following suit by banning "thinspiration" or "thinspo" boards from their site, as well as any boards that "explicitly encourage self-harm or self-abuse," the site wrote in an email that was sent to all users. The new policy will go into effect on April 6th.

It's still unclear, though, which texts and images should be considered 'thinspiration,' and many users have defended the images they post, claiming that they use the images as motivation to workout or eat well. A search on Pinterest for the terms 'thinspiration' or 'thinspo' still brings up hundreds of photos, indicating that the company has yet to beginning removing harmful material from the site.

Which images will remain on the site and which will be taken down will be up to Pinterest, and only photos that have been reported as harmful by other users will be reviewed. According to The Daily,

Pinterest’s new policy of taking down self-harm pins will be analyzed on a case-by-case basis, and only when pins are reported by fellow users. Offending pinners are notified when their content is removed, and they can then contact Pinterest with further questions or concerns.

With a policy as vague as this, monitoring thousands of Pinterest boards won't be easy, and it's likely to be years (if ever) until Pinterest is free of all so-called harmful material. You can review the complete new policy HERE, but if you have something possibly inappropriate to pin...do it before they start to crack down on the crazy stuff on April 6th.

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