Social networking startup Bluesky has made the decision to block access to its service in the state of Mississippi, rather than comply with a new age assurance law.
The business expressed concerns about the law’s vast reach and privacy ramifications in a blog post published on Friday, explaining that, as a tiny team, it lacks the resources to implement the significant technical adjustments this kind of law would need.
HB 1126 in Mississippi mandates that platforms implement age verification for all users prior to granting them access to social networks such as Bluesky. The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, August 14, to deny an emergency appeal that would have stopped the law from taking effect while the legal issues it faces were being heard in court.
As a result, Bluesky had to decide what it would do about compliance.
This regulation mandates age verification of all users rather than requiring it before users might access age-restricted content. This implies that Bluesky would need to confirm each user’s age and secure authorization from parents for those under the age of 18. The business points out that there are severe consequences for disobedience as well, with fines of up to $10,000 per person.
In addition, Bluesky emphasizes that the rule would erect “substantial hurdles that impede free speech and disproportionately hurt smaller platforms and developing technology,” going beyond child safety as intended.
In order to comply, Bluesky would need to follow minors in detail and gather and preserve sensitive data from all of its users. This contrasts with other age verification regulations, such as the Online Safety Act (OSA) of the United Kingdom, which only mandates age checks for specific features and material.
According to Mississippi law, users cannot access the website unless they supply sensitive and personal information.
According to the company’s blog post, “We are a tiny team focused on inventing decentralized social technology that puts users in charge, unlike tech giants with massive resources.” Complex privacy safeguards, continuous compliance monitoring, and significant infrastructure and developer labor investments are all necessary for age verification systems, and these expenses can quickly overwhelm smaller suppliers. It pointed out that this relationship stifles innovation and competition that benefit users while solidifying the major tech platforms that already exist.
CTO Paul Frazee responded on Saturday that Bluesky was “working deploy an update to our location detection that we hope will solve some inaccuracies” after some users outside of Mississippi complained that they were having trouble accessing the service because their cell providers were rerouting traffic through servers in the state.
According to the company’s blog post, this ruling only pertains to the Bluesky app, which is based on the AT Protocol. Other apps might take a different tack when making the choice.
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