Ning Sets Jan. 5 Deadline for Adult Sites to Get Out

PALO ALTO, Calif. — After giving its adult websites until Jan. 5 to get off its servers, social-networking generator Ning.com has sent out an email to adult webmasters that explains how to expedite the process.

Ning lets consumers and professionals build full social-networking portals, complete with profiles, comments, forums and other familiar features. Earlier this month, Ning CEO Gina Bianchini changed a longstanding policy and disallowed sites with adult content, though she offered no one definition for what constitutes "adult" content.

Bianchini acted against the wishes of Ning cofounder Marc Andreessen, who said that Ning should "let people fundamentally do what they want." On Ning, that wouldn't even include that many people — only about 1 percent of the 675,000 social networks hosted on Ning are adult-oriented.

Her actions have also drawn criticism from leading tech analyst Michael Arrington of TechCrunch.com, who speculated that Bianchini's actions were motivated by one thing: money.

"Ning uses Google for advertising, and Google doesn’t like adult content," he said. "That puts Ning on a bit of a slippery slope when it comes to defining what is and isn’t adult content. But presumably they’ve now drawn that line, and those 1 percent of networks that are on the wrong side of it have been notified. So pack your content, and get out."

Ning lets users instantly build their own social networks, and until this week, social networks built around adult or pornographic themes were allowed, but then Bianchini spiked adult networks in a blog post.

"Adult social networks don’t pull their own weight," she wrote. "Specifically, they require other social networks to work harder because they don’t generate enough advertising or premium service revenue to cover their costs. Plus, our ad partners aren’t big fans of the adult networks and therefore require us to identify adult networks or risk our healthy advertising revenue. We don’t want to be in the policing business and, unchecked, that’s where this is heading."

For more information, visit Help.Ning.com.

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Former Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer Sentenced to 3 Years Probation, $40,000 Fine

Former Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer was sentenced in federal court today to three years' probation and a $40,000 restitution fine for a conspiracy conviction related to money laundering through the defunct website.

Pineapple Support to Launch 'Wellbeing by PS' Initiative

Pineapple Support has announced its Wellbeing by PS initiative, naming new team member Amber Madden to head the project.

Playboy Wins $81 Million Judgment in Chinese Licensing Arbitration

Playboy Inc. was awarded $81 million in damages on Monday by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, in a licensing dispute with former partner New Handong Investment (Guangdong) Co. Ltd.

GirlsDoPorn Owner Michael Pratt Sentenced to 27 Years

Michael Pratt, former owner of the website GirlsDoPorn, has been sentenced to 27 years in federal prison.

TrustyFans Introduces New Blog

Creator directory TrustyFans has introduced an official blog to its site, titled "From Hidden to Hype."

JustFor.fans' Dominic Ford Featured in Wired Magazine

JustFor.fans Founder and CEO Dominic Ford is featured in a new article in Wired Magazine, titled "The Internet Revolutionized Porn. Age Verification Could Upend Everything."

Dr. Charlotte Gaydos Joins ProDx Health Advisory Board

Dr. Charlotte Gaydos has joined the Advisory Board of ProDx Health.

Aylo Fined $5 Million as FTC, Utah Settle Safety Practices Complaint

The Federal Trade Commission and the state of Utah on Wednesday settled a complaint against Aylo, requiring the company to pay a $5 million penalty and implement measures to prevent illegal content from appearing on its sites.

New AI Companion Platform 'Pornstar.love' Launches

Pornstar.love, a new AI companion platform, has officially launched.

Pineapple Support, Stripchat to Host 'Navigating Thoughts of Suicide' Support Group

Pineapple Support and Stripchat are hosting a free online support group to help performers deal with suicidal ideation.

Show More