The launch of social networking Bluesky has decided to prevent access to its service to the state of Mississippi, rather than complying with a law to ensure young age.
To one blog It was published on Friday, the company explains that, as a small group, it does not have the resources to make the major technical changes that this type of law would require and raised concerns about the wide scope and the consequences of the private sector.
Mississippi Hb 1126 It requires platforms to introduce age verification for all users before having access to social networks such as Bluesky. On Thursday, Judges of the US Supreme Court Decided to block a emergency appeal This would prevent the law from coming into force, as the legal challenges it faces in the courts.
As a result, Bluesky had to decide what to do for compliance.
Instead of requiring age verification before users can access content with limited age, this law requires age verification all users. This means that Bluesky should verify the age of each user and receive parental consent for anyone under 18 years of age. The company notes that possible penalties for non -compliance are also heavy – up to $ 10,000 per user.
Bluesky also emphasizes that the law goes beyond the safety of children, as it is foreseen, and will create “significant obstacles that limit freedom of speech and disproportionately to harm smaller platforms and emerging technologies”.
To comply, Bluesky will have to collect and store sensitive information from all its users, except for detailed monitoring of minors. This is different from how it is expected to comply with other age verification laws, such as UK security law (OSA), which only requires age controls for certain content and characteristics.
The law of Mississippi prevents anyone from using the site unless it provides its personal and sensitive information.
“Unlike technological giants with huge resources, we are a small group that focuses on building the decentralized social technology that puts users in control,” the company’s blog post said. “Age verification systems require significant infrastructure and developer investments, complex privacy protections and continuous monitoring of compliance – the costs that can easily flood smaller providers.
Some Bluesky users out of Mississippi then Reported issues that have access to the service Due to the providers of cells that launch traffic through servers in the state, with CTO Paul Frazee by answering Saturday that the company “was working to develop an information to detect our location that we hope will solve some inaccuracies”.
The suspension of the company’s blog notes that its decision only applies to the Bluesky application based on the AT protocol. Other applications may approach the decision differently.
This post has been informed to reflect users’ problems outside Mississippi and Bluesky’s response.
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