Bluesky brings age verification to South Dakota and Wyoming

"Both South Dakota and Wyoming pushed ahead with their online safety laws after a Supreme Court ruling upheld a Texas law requiring age verification for porn sites. While many states only apply online safety laws to adult websites or platforms containing a certain threshold of harmful content, 404 Media points out that South Dakota and Wyoming's laws don't include this carveout. That means they could affect a much broader swatch of online platforms, including Reddit, X, and Discord, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation."

"Last month, Bluesky and Mastodon stopped operating in Mississippi after the Supreme Court refused to block a "likely unconstitutional" law that forces platforms to verify the ages of users when they create an account. Bluesky said the law "would block everyone from accessing the site - teens and adults - unless they hand over sensitive information." In the UK, Bluesky restricts unverified and underage users from accessing adult content, as well as from using certain features, like direct messaging."

Bluesky will check the ages of users in South Dakota and Wyoming and accept verification with an ID, payment card, face scan, or other methods processed through Epic Games' Kids Web Services (KWS). South Dakota and Wyoming advanced online safety laws after a Supreme Court ruling that upheld a Texas law requiring age verification for porn sites. Those states' laws lack a carveout for adult-only platforms and could affect a wide range of services, including Reddit, X, and Discord, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Bluesky and Mastodon previously stopped operating in Mississippi over a similar law that would force users to hand over sensitive information. In the UK, Bluesky restricts unverified and underage users from adult content and some features like direct messaging.

Read at The Verge