If you live in Mississippi, you may have noticed that you are no longer able to log into your Bluesky or Dreamwidth accounts from within the state. That’s because, in a chilling early warning sign for the U.S., both social platforms decided to block all users in Mississippi from their services rather than risk hefty fines under the state’s oppressive age verification mandate.

This consolidation of power is a dream come true for the Big Tech platforms, but it’s a nightmare for users. While the megacorporations get more traffic and a whole lot more user data (read: profit), users are left with far fewer community options and a bland, corporate surveillance machine instead of a vibrant public sphere. The internet we all fell in love with is a diverse and colorful place, full of innovation, connection, and unique opportunities for self-expression. That internet—our internet—is worth defending.

  • underline960@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    6·
    3 days ago

    users are left with far fewer community options

    Where is the fediverse in this analysis?

    Edit: The article references Bluesky fleeing Mississippi due to risk of fines. Do admins running fediverse instances run similar risks?

    Bluesky was the first platform to make the announcement. In a public blogpost, Bluesky condemned H.B. 1126’s broad scope, barriers to innovation, and privacy implications, explaining that the law forces platforms to “make every Mississippi Bluesky user hand over sensitive personal information and undergo age checks to access the site—or risk massive fines.” As Bluesky noted, “This dynamic entrenches existing big tech platforms while stifling the innovation and competition that benefits users.” Instead, Bluesky made the decision to cut off Mississippians entirely until the courts consider whether to overturn the law.

    • Twipped@l.twipped.socialEnglish
      2·
      1 day ago

      Eugen issued a statement that Mastodon is physically incapable of implementing age verification and that thedecentralized nature of the fediverse means there is no central authority that can block regions which define these laws.

      https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/29/mastodon-says-it-doesnt-have-the-means-to-comply-with-age-verification-laws/

      IANAL, but I imagine under the laws, they would go after individual instance owners to mandate verification. The laws have no provision for third party software, so it would fall to the courts, but most instances don’t have the funds to fight it.

      • underline960@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        1·
        21 hours ago

        Seems untenable.

        If I live in Europe and run a mastodon instance open to anyone, it’s not like I or my server fall under a Mississippi law.

        What are they going to do, sue my Serbian ass? Serve a restraining order to my Norwegian server?

        • Twipped@l.twipped.socialEnglish
          2·
          14 hours ago

          Oh the laws are completely unenforceable, they’re basically just a blank check to go after any website the ruling class dislikes.