Bluesky Blocks Mississippi Over Age Verification Law (techcrunch.com) 71
People in Mississippi no longer have access to Bluesky. "If you access Bluesky from a Mississippi IP address, you'll see a message explaining why the app isn't available," announced a Bluesky blog post Friday.
The reason is a new Mississippi law that "requires all users to verify their ages before using common social media sites ranging from Facebook to Nextdoor," noted NPR. Bluesky wrote that their block "will remain in place while the courts decide whether the law will stand." [U]nder the law, we would need to verify every user's age and obtain parental consent for anyone under 18. The potential penalties for non-compliance are substantial — 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.
Bluesky also notes that the law "requires collecting and storing sensitive personal information from all users...not just those accessing age-restricted content" — and that this information would include "detailed tracking of minors."
TechCrunch notes that even blocking Mississippi has created some problems: Some Bluesky users outside Mississippi subsequently reported issues accessing the service due to their cell providers routing traffic through servers in the state, with CTO Paul Frazee responding Saturday that the company was "working deploy an update to our location detection that we hope will solve some inaccuracies." The company's blog post notes that its decision only applies to the Bluesky app built on the AT Protocol. Other apps may approach the decision differently.
Interestingly, the law had been immediately challenged by NetChoice (a trade association of major tech companies). But while a District Court agreed, blocking the law from going into effect (until court challenges finished), an Appeals Court then lifted that block. A final appeal to America's Supreme Court was unsuccessful — although the ruling by Justice Kavanaugh suggests the law could be overturned later: "To be clear, NetChoice has, in my view, demonstrated that it is likely to succeed on the merits — namely, that enforcement of the Mississippi law would likely violate its members' First Amendment rights under this Court's precedents... [U]nder this Court's case law as it currently stands, the Mississippi law is likely unconstitutional. Nonetheless, because NetChoice has not sufficiently demonstrated that the balance of harms and equities favors it at this time, I concur in the Court's denial of the application for interim relief."
The reason is a new Mississippi law that "requires all users to verify their ages before using common social media sites ranging from Facebook to Nextdoor," noted NPR. Bluesky wrote that their block "will remain in place while the courts decide whether the law will stand." [U]nder the law, we would need to verify every user's age and obtain parental consent for anyone under 18. The potential penalties for non-compliance are substantial — 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.
Bluesky also notes that the law "requires collecting and storing sensitive personal information from all users...not just those accessing age-restricted content" — and that this information would include "detailed tracking of minors."
TechCrunch notes that even blocking Mississippi has created some problems: Some Bluesky users outside Mississippi subsequently reported issues accessing the service due to their cell providers routing traffic through servers in the state, with CTO Paul Frazee responding Saturday that the company was "working deploy an update to our location detection that we hope will solve some inaccuracies." The company's blog post notes that its decision only applies to the Bluesky app built on the AT Protocol. Other apps may approach the decision differently.
Interestingly, the law had been immediately challenged by NetChoice (a trade association of major tech companies). But while a District Court agreed, blocking the law from going into effect (until court challenges finished), an Appeals Court then lifted that block. A final appeal to America's Supreme Court was unsuccessful — although the ruling by Justice Kavanaugh suggests the law could be overturned later: "To be clear, NetChoice has, in my view, demonstrated that it is likely to succeed on the merits — namely, that enforcement of the Mississippi law would likely violate its members' First Amendment rights under this Court's precedents... [U]nder this Court's case law as it currently stands, the Mississippi law is likely unconstitutional. Nonetheless, because NetChoice has not sufficiently demonstrated that the balance of harms and equities favors it at this time, I concur in the Court's denial of the application for interim relief."
Conclusion (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: Conclusion (Score:3, Interesting)
News to nobody really. Blue sky is where people go when they want to talk about Trump and/or Elon.
Re: (Score:3)
* FictionPimp: The company notes that its decision only applies to the Bluesky app built on the AT Protocol. Other apps may approach the decision differently.
* Barny: The protocol (AT Proto) is accessible by anyone, it's just Bluesky's frontend that will be restricted. You can build your own app that reads/writes to all the same data Bluesky does, through AT Proto.
* cardpuncher: The vast majority of Bluesky users are using that app, however. Whereas Bluesky is decentralizable (up to some point) very little
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Blue sky is where people go when they want to talk about Trump and/or Elon.
On the other hand, if the biggest issue going on in your life is that Cracker Barrel changed their logo, then you'll feel right at home on X.
Re: (Score:1)
Besides a soon-to-be unemployed CEO, who has claimed the Cracker Barrel implosion is the biggest issue going on in their life?
You sound just like a Bluesky drama queen with that whatabout.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Blue sky is where people go when they want to talk about Trump and/or Elon.
On the other hand, if the biggest issue going on in your life is that Cracker Barrel changed their logo, then you'll feel right at home on X.
You win non-sequitur of the week. But since you raised such a critical matter we must address it as a teaching moment. While the old logo was problematic, with the enemy, an old white male on the logo, which is incredibly racist and sexist, and certainly a MAGA voter, just like all old white males are The new logo has been tested to not offered any of the marginalized groups.... /s
All that sarcasm aside, it is pretty clear the direction that Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino is taking the company.
Re: (Score:1, Troll)
Conservatives upset by change, push dumbshit culture war narrative, news at 11.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
most people would agree the new logo is boring and a further corporate blanding of a brand which we have seen done time and time again.
This is what I actually find unpleasant about the new logo: it doesn't stand out, it's unmemorable and looks too sterile. It's the same with some of the iconic building shapes of different fast food places like McDonald's and Pizza Hut... they all went super-sterile probably so they could fit into the "planned community" ideal or to be more pleasing to the HOA Karens.
One of my friends commented, "Oh, look. Dollar General is selling food now." It's a silly logo change that IMO weakens the brand. But I'm not going to get all hysterical about it. It's their company, their decision, and it has exactly zero impact on my life.
Re: (Score:2)
most people would agree the new logo is boring and a further corporate blanding of a brand which we have seen done time and time again.
This is what I actually find unpleasant about the new logo: it doesn't stand out, it's unmemorable and looks too sterile. It's the same with some of the iconic building shapes of different fast food places like McDonald's and Pizza Hut... they all went super-sterile probably so they could fit into the "planned community" ideal or to be more pleasing to the HOA Karens.
They were also re-doing the interiors, to add booths (a good thing) to making a sterile fast-food atmosphere, which is not so good. Took down the geegaws and antiques on the walls, and painting the walls white.
The good news is that Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino, is now walking back the changes. I'm impressed. In a world where its has become the norm to make big mistakes then double down on them until ruination, she has shown that she can learn.
The silly thing isn't from Cracker Barrel, but CNN,
Re: (Score:2)
Millions of yellow American people now object to the new logo.
The Simpsons?
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A very stupidly dismissive comment ignoring the wider trend of uglifying and dumbing down branding to satisfy the whims of social marxists. White people in brands is a bad thing according to leftists, so for the sake of inclusion (orwellian lingo), they take them out. The CEO is explicitly a leftist goon.
You people will insert your idiot culture war anywhere won't you? Every time there's change it's an opportunity for you to be a victim, right?
Re: Conclusion (Score:2)
How are you any different?
Re: (Score:2)
Well for one I don't start frothing over fascists randomly. Is updating Cracker Barrel's super old timey logo Marxist conspiracy in action or part of an attempt at trying to resuscitate a failing brand by making the logo look more modern?
I feel it's safe to say it's the later. The above's a nut who watches too much conservative talking-head drama. They just want to be a victim.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: Conclusion (Score:2)
A war takes two to tango. It seems like you're just as much a belligerent in said culture war, and this isn't even the first time I've seen it out of you. From where I sit, the only difference between you and him is which side you're on.
Re: (Score:2)
A war takes two to tango. It seems like you're just as much a belligerent in said culture war, and this isn't even the first time I've seen it out of you. From where I sit, the only difference between you and him is which side you're on.
Having talked to you several times I am not at all surprised this is your opinion. I mean, you stating "this isn't even the first time I've seen it out of you" right now is apparently me expressing disapproval of some one whining about culture war nonsense where it doesn't make even a bit of sense because that's all I was doing in that post. I have in fact done this on many occasions, what an awful person I am!
Re: (Score:2)
Telling somebody to let another person simply be who they are, which was likely in reference to this:
https://www.independent.co.uk/... [independent.co.uk]
Is...waging a culture war...according to you. And here you are, yet again, going on about culture wars, prompted by a conversation started by somebody who isn't even remotely conservative, right wing, or whatever the hell label you feel like harvesting from your ass hairs today. Which definitely makes you a culture warrior, while you...go around griping about culture wars. Aw
Re: (Score:2)
Wow, what a giant strawman. Gina Carano doesnt have a thing to do with this and neither does the rest of your post.
For instance
And here you are, yet again, going on about culture wars, prompted by a conversation started by somebody who isn't even remotely conservative, right wing, or whatever the hell label you feel like harvesting from your ass hairs today.
When did I ever say they were any of those things? I pointed out they were being obnoxious and inserting culture warrior nonsense where there were far more likely explanations for what was going on. That is all.
Personally I feel a bit bad for the CEO. He very likely had no idea him changing a fucking sign would incur the wrath of the culture warriors.
But yeah, go make up some storie
Re: Conclusion (Score:2)
Not a straw man, if anything an ad-hominem, but the topic was already about you, so it is not a logical error. That was an allusion to one of your prior cultural warfare battles, which is totally relevant to the point I made.
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What a wonderful allusion, I have no idea what you're getting at. Maybe go through my user history and take things out of context like last time.
Or we could stick to the conversation at hand. You've realized you don't have a leg to stand on there though which is why you're trying to broaden the topic to an area you feel you can do better in.
Re: Conclusion (Score:2)
Maybe go through my user history and take things out of context like last time.
If I did that, I'd already know exactly where it is so I could simply link to it.
Or we could stick to the conversation at hand. You've realized you don't have a leg to stand on there though which is why you're trying to broaden the topic to an area you feel you can do better in.
You're the jackoff who started projecting culture wars, meaning you already took the conversation here. All I'm doing (actually already did) was point out the fact that you are projecting this mindset on to others, and worse, you don't even tolerate people declining to participate in your stupid little culture wars.
Re: (Score:2)
You're the jackoff who started projecting culture wars, meaning you already took the conversation here.
Clearly you missed the part where the person I responded to insisted culture war was the reason for this sign change. I didn't bring this culture war bullshit up, they did. I responded. Try to keep up better please. You're wasting my time.
All I'm doing (actually already did) was point out the fact that you are projecting this mindset on to others, and worse, you don't even tolerate people declining to participate in your stupid little culture wars.
No, all you're doing is trolling me. I didn't bring culture war bullshit into this conversation, they did.
Re: (Score:2)
Clearly you missed the part where the person I responded to insisted culture war was the reason for this sign change. I didn't bring this culture war bullshit up, they did. I responded. Try to keep up better please.
When you entered the conversation, you started with this:
You people will insert your idiot culture war anywhere won't you?
However, I didn't see anyone really, let alone the guy you replied to, engaging in an actual culture war. Speculating that it was motivated by a culture warrior? Yeah, I'd say so. Spouting nonsense? Yeah, I'd say so. But at the same time, I didn't see any kind of call to action or active inaction (e.g. a boycott) or a claim to be actively doing anything like that, telling other people how they're supposed to think, or otherwise imposing morals on some
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Conservatives spend the last 40 years incentivizing business to do ruthless profiteering, mergers and ceding to wealth and venture capital firms at every turn and now when that environment and those incentives they demand special pleading for culture war reasons (which they also made absurd purity tests for).
What happened to vote with your wallets? If it's so bad then just don't go. Waffle House and Denny's and Bob Evans and IHOP and every other chain still exists, or did they all "go woke" as well.
Jeez at
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Jeez at this rate conservatives won't have anywhere to eat, they've declared everything woke.
Hey they could always eat at Trump Burger! Oh nevermind, the owner was detained by ICE https://www.newsweek.com/trump... [newsweek.com]
Re: Conclusion (Score:2)
This is the first I've heard of that. But I don't use twitter either and I've never even been to cracker barrel. All I ever see about bluesky is how the slashdot editors always fawn over it, and every time I follow links to it (from anywhere) even if the linked post isn't political, the rest of the page is always trump this, elon that, a maga ate my baby, america bad, etc.
Another thing people keep saying is "it's the fastest growing social media network!" but when I look at the numbers, there's this spike t
Re: (Score:3)
I thought they came to Slashdot for that.
Re: (Score:2)
But seriously, they've stated that want to use their platform to enable their users to pay each other. If they're going to do that, they they really do need to verify the identities of every single user they plan to pay. Allowing massive tech companies to pay anonymous accounts is what created the horrible
Re: (Score:2)
The app, Bluesky, is run by the company called Bluesky Social. You can still connect to accounts on Bluesky via their open protocol from other apps like Mastodon.
Dupe (Score:4, Informative)
Yep, we already covered this the other day. [slashdot.org]
Slashot Weekend (Score:2)
Yep, we already covered this the other day. [slashdot.org]
Yean Slashdot Wekend is when lazy "Editor David" can't be bothered to read, spellcheck, verify, or do anything other than punch the "approve submission" button. I'm pretty sure he then lights up with glee when it posts and claps its hands together to let the cymbals gnash into each other. Then he takes his little hat off and eats leftover popcorn from it.
Re: (Score:2)
That got modded informative? Really?
Solution is some persistence mechanism for stories that deserve longer discussions. Or even a way to revive stories for another cycle of discussion.
But Slashdot lacks any financial model for improvements. One of those "as is" situations.
Re: (Score:2)
Solution is some persistence mechanism for stories that deserve longer discussions.
No such thing. A week is plenty.
Re: (Score:2)
Where is this week you are talking about? Is that the secret of when stories get archived?
I was talking about time on the top page. Some stories deserve more, some less--but as far as I can tell, every story moves down the front page at the same rate, and once it falls off, it is effectively dead.
Bluesky is unusable. (Score:3)
With all the confusing blocking options, itâ(TM)s a major waste of time trying to figure out what some threads are about.
I got banned for mocking this aspect (gently) and canâ(TM)t be bothered to appeal it.
Yet another dumb law (Score:5, Insightful)
If Mississippi or any other state / country wants to implement a law "to protect the children", then place the burden on ISPs to offer households family filtering software for free that can be enabled to the entire account, or to individual devices with software or MAC filtering. The software could even support deep packet inspection like some proxies already do. No solution is perfect but this at least puts responsibility onto the parents / guardians, does not impact on adults who do not avail of the option and allows the state to control and monitor effectiveness.
But hey that's too sensible.
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Pushing the burden of age verification onto websites is stupid and fraught with obvious problems - most sites won't bother to implement verification and since they reside outside the jurisdiction so there is no way to enforce the law anyway. And even if a site does implement verification, collecting personally identifiable information, then it is adults who will find themselves at risk of extortion, doxxing, impersonation etc. when those details are stolen. And most kids (and adults) will just circumvent the dumb restrictions with a VPN, Tor or whatever.
Yah. To me, it seems like all 50 states need to have a blockable identification, and if the moral leaders in those states wish to keep whatever they want kept out, the sites can do just that. Since it is impossible to verify age under any circumstances, at all. The problem is solved by sites blocking the state.
Then if a member of that state works their way around the sensible solution - and they will, just as you note - the state can prosecute them under their state laws if they are caught looking at pe
Re: (Score:2)
if they are caught looking at peen and vagene.
I didn't see where this law applied only to "adult content" sites. It appears to apply to all users, regardless of content.
So what happens when some kid tries to use the public library site in that state? Will they incur the cost of an age verification system? What will that do to public service IT budgets?
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They have some of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the nation. I suppose they expect age verification to fix that.
Of course it will. If their kids didn't have porn to look at, they'd have to look at each other.
Oh, wait, they wanted the teen pregnancy rate to get *lower*?
Re: Yet another dumb law (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
place the burden on ISPs
filtering software
enabled to the entire account, or to individual devices with software or MAC filtering. The software could even support deep packet inspection like some proxies already do.
In Kentucky, this is exactly what their public school system already does for school issued devices.
responsibility onto the parents / guardians
Turns out most parents don't care even if you tell them they can. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been asked for a review from a parent. Despite telling them multiple times in person that the option is available to them.
allows the state to control and monitor effectiveness.
Although, I'm sure that someone from the state is looking at the logs, (whenever a major incident occurs), for at least one of the filtering solutions that's been entirely
Oh no (Score:3)
People in Mississippi no longer have access to Bluesky.
I'm sure they are very sad.
Re: Oh no (Score:2)
Yeah, all two of them.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Once the rest of them learn to read they'll be sad too!
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so glad to see all the free speech principles on /. were all fairweather.
politics obviously trumps (literally) principles on this place
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I'm offering them thoughts and prayers. What else do they need?
Punishing everyone (Score:5, Insightful)
>"Bluesky also notes that the law "requires collecting and storing sensitive personal information from all users...not just those accessing age-restricted content" â" and that this information would include "detailed tracking of minors.""
Funny, we just had this discussion.
What these laws do is punish ADULTS by forcing them to positively identify themselves with sensitive information. And that is surely a boon to yet more tracking, targeting, and chilling of free speech. Last I checked, I can walk into any library and look at whatever I want without identifying myself. And if I want protection for my [theoretical] children, I won't allow them to go there unsupervised.
Protecting children effectively from the wild insanity of the Internet has to go way beyond a few popular social media sites and should be based on what physical devices minors are given and driven by parents. Parents need more options for easy and effective lockdown/whitelisting on mobile (and other) devices. These types of laws do not do that.
Parents have the duty to protect their children. They *are* to blame if they hand over dangerous things to their kids. It should be up to companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft to offer tools parents can use for restricting access at the source devices kids have access to. Not to restrict adults. Minors should be slowly prepared to be proficient through restricted devices with the parents monitoring and explaining and participating when accessing stuff outside the minimum required. It should start with whitelisting all communication in/out and carefully vetted apps. Then slowly introducing more freedom as they become more responsible. Proper parenting does this with everything else.
I hope all these ID laws are struck down.
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Yes, starting with root access to any mobile so you can install a proper firewall and a system level ad blocker.
But that would defeat the whole idea of a personal spying device, right?
In a better world; a proposal (Score:1)
Bluesky is bluesky's domain.
Gus Johnson at home with his kids is his domain.
Gus Johnson's domain initiates a TCP SYN with Bluesky (not the other way around).
The onus should be on Gus to assume responsibility for the connection (or the absence of one).
QED
Fragmenting (Score:3)
I don't really care that much about this specific site - I'm not a Bluesky user - but it is very concerning that as these things start to stack up we're basically getting into a fragmented internet. If you're in a state with these types of laws, you're blocked from an increasingly larger portion of the internet.
And yes, it is easily avoided/worked around via VPN, which I have myself, but it starts to feel very dystopian when I have to go switch to my special "unblocked" browser or VM to visit a site.
Idiot legislators and an even stupider governor. (Score:1)
Idiots. Legislation like that wastes millions in taxpayer dollars.
Vote from the rooftops.
Re: (Score:2)
My friend, you've missed the points, here.
1. It is a parent's duty to see their own children's well-being, not the state's. Parents must monitor their children when using the internet. Don't even bring up mobile internet. Those kids can get by just fine with a non-smart phone and without sms. A data plan us not a requirement to phone home.
Can't manage that? Perhaps having no home internet or ceding parental rights and control of the child to the state would work better.
Zero sympathy. Do your job, or for the
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Parents must monitor their children when using the internet!
How, exactly? Watch over their shoulder the entire time? Even when they are on their smart phone?
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You're the one paying for that monthly service plan, you're the one paying for the phone itself. YOU can police it. If that's too hard for you, then DON'T PAY FOR IT AND TAKE IT AWAY FROM THE KID.
No-one said the Internet was your child's playground. Just like no-one said the drug-filled back alley on the "bad" side of town was your child's playground. If you pay to send your kids there, you loose any and all right to complain about t
Re: (Score:2)
For as old as he is (judging by his User ID #), he's very simpleminded, isn't he?
Read the legislation (Score:1)
The language is pretty loose and doesn't specifically call out social media. It calls out any site that allows users to create accounts and interact. That means slashdot and literally every other forum is subject to brain dead Mississippi law.
Will Anyone Notice? (Score:2)
I'm not sure that Mississippians did Bluesky. Did they?
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The party of small government (Score:1)
Time to invest in VPN companies. (Score:2)
So, BlueSky no longer in UK either? (Score:2)
Not having even applied for a BlueSky account (if, indeed, that is how it works), I neither know, nor really care. But I assume this also means that BlueSky's UK clientele will be unable to use the App fairly soon. Which is probably a bigger population than Missississippi.
Or, does this reported "open protocol" mean that there will be non-age-verifying applications appearing in the UK RSN.
Is there recording in the BlueSky protocol of a user's age, bra/ testicle size and cheesecake flavour preference? And if