Pinterest is on the road to monetization and it intends to remove every obstacle in its path. One of these obstacles is the plethora of “power users” on the website that make money off of affiliate links, which Pinterest has started to completely ban. These power users were informed of the change in policy yesterday and were given the opportunity to remove the links themselves. 

As Pinterest’s monetization plans materialize, the social network is pulling the plug on affiliate networks. Pinterest warned select “power pinners” this evening that it will now “automatically remove all affiliate links, redirects and trackers on Pins.” According to an email forwarded to VentureBeat, Pinterest began removing these links today, and specifically targeted links from popular affiliate networks RewardStyle and Hello Society. This is not the first time Pinterest has banned affiliate networks, but the company has never issued a total ban. These announcements arrive at a curious time.