Tumblr restores several accounts banned by automated moderation tool

Tumblr restores several accounts banned by automated moderation tool

Tumblr users were left in a state of panic on Wednesday, after an automated system banned dozens of accounts in a single afternoon.

The mass bans appeared to disproportionately affect trans women accounts, with many users receiving no explanation for their account terminations.

Screenshots of the ban notification emails indicated that this action was taken as the result of an internally-generated report, and automated means may have been used to identify the content at issue.

Bans were mistakes, says head of communications

Chenda Ngak, the head of communications at Tumblr's parent company Automattic, confirmed the bans but said many were mistakes that have now been reversed.

"We continuously work to maintain platform health and adapt our systems to prevent bad actors from spreading harm," she said.

"In that process, our automated system has incorrectly flagged several users, including, but not limited to, members of the trans community."