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Bluesky exits Mississippi over age verification row

Date:
Tue, 26 Aug 2025 15:47:13 +0000

Description:
Bluesky now blocks all traffic coming from Mississippi's IP addresses, but a
VPN could help you get back online. Here's all you need to know.

FULL STORY

Bluesky has decided to exit Mississippi in response to the new age
verification law, which now requires social media platforms to verify the age
of every user before granting them access. 

Elon Musk's X rival warns that the new requirements "would fundamentally
change how users access Bluesky," while opening up to privacy and security
challenges that would impact smaller providers in particular. 

Therefore, starting Friday, August 22, 2025, Bluesky is blocking all traffic
from Mississippi IP addresses. This, however, means that users based in the
state may be able to turn to the best VPN services to keep using the app. 

"We do not take this decision lightly," wrote Bluesky in its official
announcement , while ensuring that child safety remains a core priority. Yet,
"We think this law creates challenges that go beyond its child safety goals,
and creates significant barriers that limit free speech and 
disproportionately harm smaller platforms and emerging technologies." 

Being a decentralized platform, the block applies only to the Bluesky app
built on the AT Protocol. "Other apps and services may choose to respond
differently," explains the provider.

Why is Bluesky worried about Mississippi's age verification approach?

As per Mississippi's HB1126 law , which was upheld by the US Supreme Court on
August 14, all social media platforms must verify that every user accessing
the platform is over 18 and obtain parental consent for all minors looking to
use the app. 

The law also requires tech providers to identify and keep track of all teen
and child users. Fines for non-compliance can reach up to $10,000 per user. 

"Building the required verification systems, parental consent workflows, and
compliance infrastructure would require significant resources that our small
team is currently unable to spare as we invest in developing safety tools and
features for our global community," explains Bluesky. 

The economic burden is only half of the story, though. 

Bluesky is also concerned that the "law's broad scope" could affect all
citizens in Mississippi (not only minors) to use their favorite platforms,
negatively impacting their right to free speech and access to information. 

The provider also warns against the privacy implications that could stem from
collecting and storing such sensitive information about all users, as well as
from tracking minors online.

Age checks aren't the real issue here, either. Bluesky was indeed one of the
first providers to enforce age verification rules in the UK . 

Yet, there's a substantial difference between the two laws. 

Under the UK Online Safety Act , Bluesky and similar providers are required 
to verify users' age only for accessing content deemed legal but harmful. 

"Mississippis law, by contrast, would block everyone from accessing the site
teens and adults  unless they hand over sensitive information, and once they
do, the law in Mississippi requires Bluesky to keep track of which users are
children," explains the provider.

The Bluesky app is now set to block access to all Mississippi IP addresses
"until legal challenges to this law are resolved," explains the provider. 

======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/bluesky-exits-mississippi-o
ver-age-verification-row

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