Our Response to Mississippi's Age Assurance Law
2 days ago
- #decentralization
- #age verification
- #child safety
- Bluesky prioritizes child safety online with moderation tools and infrastructure.
- Mississippi's age assurance law requires all users to provide sensitive personal information for age checks, creating barriers to free speech.
- The law disproportionately affects smaller platforms like Bluesky, lacking resources for compliance, unlike big tech giants.
- Bluesky decides to block access from Mississippi IP addresses until legal challenges are resolved.
- HB1126 mandates age verification for all users and parental consent for minors, with hefty fines for non-compliance.
- Concerns include the law's broad scope, negative impact on innovation, and privacy implications.
- Bluesky's approach differs from the UK's Online Safety Act, which requires age checks only for specific content.
- The block applies only to the Bluesky app, not other services on the AT Protocol.
- Bluesky remains committed to child safety and an open, decentralized social ecosystem.