Feed: Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Feed Link: https://www.engadget.com/
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Title: Bluesky blocks Mississippi due to its new age verification law

Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2025 13:30:49 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/social-media/bluesky...

Users with Mississippi IP addresses can no longer access the Bluesky app. The
decentralized social media network has explained in a post that Mississippi's
new age verification law for social networks "would fundamentally change" how
it operates, and it wouldn't be possible to comply with its small team and
limited resources.

Bluesky says that while it does follow the UK's Online Safety Act, it works
very differently from Mississippi's approach to age verification. In the UK,
it's only required to check for a user's age if they're accessing certain
content and features. In Mississippi, however, it cannot allow anyone to
access its service at all, unless they hand over sensitive data proving how
old they are. Further, the platform will be required to keep track of which
users are children under 18, and it will be responsible for making sure those
users won't be able to access "harmful materials." Earlier this month, the
Supreme Court decided not to intervene with the legislation, allowing it to
go into effect.

The service says that it doesn't have the significant resources needed to be
able to build the required "verification systems, parental consent workflows
and compliance infrastructure." In addition, it could be penalized with up
$10,000 per user if the government finds it to be non-compliant. Because only
big tech companies can afford the costs associated with those requirements,
Bluesky says the "dynamic entrenches existing big tech platforms while
stifling the innovation and competition that benefits users."

Bluesky will now show a note to any user accessing the service from
Mississippi, telling them why it's no longer available in the state.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/social-media/bluesky...
new-age-verification-law-133049512.html?src=rss

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