The mistake people make when asking questions like, “Why did Verizon buy Tumblr?” or why did Facebook do this, Google do that, is believing it has something to do with money.

It does not.

It has to do with power. Once you understand that most of what happens at that level concern power and its manifestations, much becomes clearer. So, why did Verizon buy Tumblr, knowing it would never make money? That’s because Tumblr had the highest proportion of anti-establishment types, including Net Neutrality supporters, of any large online service, and it did not restrict sexual expression.

Killing Tumblr was a way of destroying a powerful force that was amplified by allowing sexuality as a valid part of life. It was a life insurance policy on preservation of the status quo. Verizon knew the best and quickest way to sap all that energy was to ban all adult content, and so that’s exactly what they did. It was calculated, exact, and it worked.