1w ago

Mississippi's age assurance law puts decentralized social networks to the test

techcrunch.com

Mississippi's age assurance law puts decentralized social networks to the test | TechCrunch

Technology @lemmy.world

airportline @lemmy.zip

1w ago

Mississippi's age assurance law puts decentralized social networks to the test

techcrunch.com /2025/08/28/mississippis-age-assurance-law-puts-decentralized-social-networks-to-the-test/

Bluesky Social 🦋 @lemmy.zip

airportline @lemmy.zip

1w ago

Mississippi's age assurance law puts decentralized social networks to the test | TechCrunch

techcrunch.com /2025/08/28/mississippis-age-assurance-law-puts-decentralized-social-networks-to-the-test/

35 comments

Have any of Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Discord implemented age-checks in Mississippi then?
If not, why is Bluesky the only one going dark there?
- Because Bluesky isn't a real decentralized platform
  
  Yeah but why aren't the other sites implementing checks?
  
  🤝🙂‍↕️
  Decentralized
  BitchSky
  嘘！
  
  There are other Appviews on the atProto that have chosen not to implement checks that have full access to Bluesky posting/data.
- Bluesky is a small indie company. It can't afford to fight the law or implement the extensive age verification the law requires. So it chose to pull the plug and leave.
  FB, X, etc, have a lot more resources to implement the extensive, invasive age verification Mississippi requires and keep fighting it in court until the decision upholding it is final.
  
  I'm of the opinion that even if it is final, at some points laws are so ridiculous they must cease to be effective for all.
  
  and keep fighting it in court
  implying those neofash sites would fight against orders to tHiNk Of thE cHiLdReN
This is bullshit. It should be on mississippi to block the sites or require local isps to block them. The providers are on the internet and not going out to be in mississippi. Places should wall themselves off if they can't handle the internet.
- Or - hear me out here - it shouldn't be on anybody to do anything because the law itself is garbage and should not exist.
  
  It should fall on the parents and ISPs should have an opt in option to block adult websites.
  But we all know this is more about control and data harvesting than anything else.
  
  yup but at least then they would be leading the charge for people to leave their state.
  
  But the question is, what would be a reasonable legal principle for preventing such laws generally? Mississippi is going to pass bullshit laws, but it shouldn't be possible for the jurisdiction of any state to be anything on the entire internet.
  
  Psssshhhh!!!!! Get outta here with that solid logic, and critical thinking! We don't use reasoning in this country! We just cry and scream until everybody ELSE caves to the demands!
- You're right. Imagine having to put more resources into Mississippi than Mississippi puts into anything.
  How would other countries have responded if instead of building The Great Firewall, China had demanded each international company not allow Chinese citizens within China to access certain parts of their websites?
  
  Yeah what you have at the end is sorta my thought line. You want to go all censorship at least get off your ass and do it yourself.
Malicious compliance:
"Are you too old to have flown on the Lolita Express with Epstein and Trump?"
"Are you young enough to be employed as a 'towel girl' at the Mar a Lago massage parlour?"
- Has Mississippi lower the age restriction to 14 years old?
Just go away with age verification. You are breaking the internet with this non sense. Eg. Providing passports will only cause exploits and leaks, with all its consequences.
If you want to protect your children, then maybe the parents should protect them.
- You are breaking the internet with this non sense.
  I think that's their goal. Conservative types benefit when people have limited access to information
  
  It's all about power indeed.
- The internet has been broken for at least a couple decades. The Fediverse is about the closest thing to the old internet.
  
  Agreed!
I don't understand. Does an instance hosted anywhere outside of this US backwater state have anything to fear from this? Why is Eugen being contacted all the way in Germany?
- They're primarily in Germany but there is some US presence too. From the join Mastodon site:
  Mastodon, Inc. (EIN 92-3333630) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity in the United States that supports the growth and operational capabilities of Mastodon, including being able to receive tax-deductible U.S. donations and in-kind support.
  Oops
@cadusilva@bolha.one

35 comments