BREAKING: BlueSky is blocking access to Mississippi. This is the No. 1 platform for @mississippifreepress.org. We ditched X for BlueSky early this year. And now, at 3 pm on a Friday, poof. I don't know what we'll do next. Keep up with us using our newsletter at mfp.ms/subscribe.
I don't know what this means for whether we will still be able to post on our official account. Or where I will be. But you can follow me on Threads here: www.threads.com/@ashtonpittm...
If you’re using an iPhone you can change your location and create a vpn to post
Please I hope you have an mfp account on Mastodon.
We are there!
Great news I have some following to do here and there!
Can you post to Mastodon & have it show up on Bluesky via the bridge many people are using to crosspost to both? www.reddit.com/r/Mastodon/c...
That would be great!
Check out social media managers like Buffer or Publer; they let you schedule posts across multiple social media, and they post your material from their servers (which are not in MS). I use Buffer's web interface and iOS app; let me know if you want a walkthrough.
Hope you stay here ... but it'll take a VPN.
You can follow MFP on Threads here: www.threads.com/@msfreepress...
Sorry. I’m not (!) joining Threads. I’m not supporting Zuckerberg. Hope you’ll be back on Bluesky soon.
MFP is on Threads here: www.threads.com/@msfreepress...
Can you not use a VPN? I'm not touching a Meta product with a ten foot pole.
The problem in this case is that VPN usage only makes sense when you are otherwise theoretically able to be in the place you are tunneling through. People who run official websites/local services in the state that is affected would give away that they are evading a block mechanism though.
What would the state do at that point? It's not like the state is specifically blocking bluesky, it's actually the opposite. I do understand the fact that in-state readers won't see their content, but it is important that out of state readers can as well. I will be subscribing to the newsletter.
Yeah that is the million dollar question. In the end governments have to face that each region either ends up like China or people just reroute their traffic either way — be it with an official VPN or a network of private setups. In some cases ISPs are pressured, but the effect is limited.
Another problem for regional media is, if the *audience* skews local in a blocked region, getting through the block yourself doesn't put your stories on a shelf your audience can reach.
They can reach their local audience in other ways. A VPN would still reach non-locals, non-devotee readers who like their content, and I think that is also important, especially in the case of MFP, who speak for most of the South.
Question: MS can’t do anything to end-users for evading these blocks, can they? The law is for the companies to enforce & not the end-users to abide by, yes?
That is the question. It is possible that as soon as evading becomes a thing they witness, they would go after Bluesky for not banning the accounts that are evading. The issue is basically how they would enforce that, because platforms like Bluesky have no interest in banning users for just-using.
You’re very helpful, so I’m going to bother you for another minute—otherwise, I’d have to hash this out with ChatGPT, LOL. With what you said in mind, I just can’t see how BlueSky could be held responsible if a user is physically downloading a VPN onto their own device.
Oh that’s not the problem. The problem is that Bluesky isn’t allowed to serve them officially anymore under the circumstances defined by the filtering state. Because the VPN allows access under a fake location, there’s the stupid expectation against companies (incl ISPs) to detect and ban VPN usage.
Story on what's going on for reference: www.mississippifreepress.org/supreme-cour...
To be clear, I'm not blaming BlueSky for this situation. I understand perfectly well WHY BlueSky is blocking access to Mississippi IPs; the state government gave them no other viable choice. We are looking into our options, of course (including VPNs).
I'm able to access it with a VPN, but only on my laptop and desktop. No mobile access whatsoever.
Get yourself a VPN and post. There are several browser-plugin-based ones that are brilliant. Granted, it makes it difficult for Mississippians to get to your content, but they will also be using VPNs just to give their state legislature the middle finger. I *refuse* to bow to age verification.
Agreed, this is putting Bluesky in a bad position and from what I've seen so far its been a breath of fresh air. Good luck on your next move.
something you already know but other posters might have overlooked is while you and the MFP may be able to use VPNs, many of your readers in Mississippi can't or won't
ABSOLUTELY GET A VPN. And share it with your staff and contributors in the state. If only we could create a Mississippi citizen VPN fund. My life will literally turn to shit without one, and it's already shit as-is
Another way y'all can really help us right now is with a donation. We're a nonprofit newsroom and our stories are free for anyone to read (no paywalls), so your support helps a lot. We appreciate whatever y'all can give. Here's the link: givebutter.com/mfpdonate
My new editorial: "Whatever the Mississippi Legislature’s intent, we now find ourselves in a place where we are now having to grapple with how to ensure we can stay connected with all of our readers, many of whom follow us on BlueSky." www.mississippifreepress.org/editors-note...
Yeah that's not a harbinger of doom or anything.
This one hurts to read.
Does this law also apply to other social media platforms?
📌
Sign up for our newsletter at this link instead, it's much simpler! www.mississippifreepress.org/newsletters/
Done. I hope everyone will sign up. MFP provides excellent reporting on how Mississippians live. I will miss the posts here and look forward to their return.
Don't forget to follow us at @mississippifreepress.org! We're going to keep posting if we can!
I am so…it doesn’t matter. The work of MFP is so important. Will find you wherever you are, though hope it continues to be here. One way or another.
bsky.app/profile/leaf...
I would love there to be a thorough discussion by people who want to do the right things as to how we can actually protect kids on social media platforms. It can't be left up to the platform because they won't do it. I hope this stimulates that conversation but I'm sorry for people in Mississippi.
fwiw I'm not using a VPN and for some reason am not blocked yet.
Sorry to hear about this. I've enjoyed your reporting.
People need to look into a free VPN! There are a lot out there, this has worked for me for free with no lag, ads, or anything else. I have no affiliation with them just promoting privacy. I have been using Proton for a while and it’s available for all platforms. protonvpn.com/free-vpn
Done! Great cause, especially with the fall of NPR and PBS. Rooting for you, good luck!
Will do. This sucks.
I’d love to donate BUT …. not to be forever hounded (ActBlue)?or to give up information that I don’t want to share. Do you have a PO Box?
The issues with ActBlue are a little more complicated. The “forever hounding” and sharing of donor information is being done by the campaigns that use ActBlue, not by ActBlue itself. The problem with ActBlue is that they haven’t been policing this spammy fundraising behavior by their customers.
MFP likely isn’t in the business of selling donor information, but quite a few shady political action committees are.
Never donate using your primary email address. Create a separate email just for donations.
On this page it says you can mail a check to this address: Mississippi Journalism and Education Group 125 S. Congress St. #1324 Jackson, MS 39201
Thank you! We do not sell donor information, but this is the correct way to send us a check by mail. Thanks all for your support!
It’s on its way.
I don't know of any nonprofit journalist outlets that sell your information. I don't think MFP does either.
I would check with BlueSky first season not to be shadow banned, but why not use a VPN with a location reference outside of MS?
Thank you.
Just subscribed to your newsletter. Please keep up the good work, because it is simply awesome.
Mississippi is blocking Bluesky for its residents.
But probably also porn, so there is the lever.
VPN time
I foresee a vpn in the future for many democrats/independents, ie non magats.
Oh 100%! Privacy is being attacked on all fronts. Also anyone/thing that talks facts, science, or truth. This is a real example and outcome of an authoritarian form of government trying to control reality. Peak boiled frog stage.
Vivaldi has a built on VPN provided throguh ProtonVPN that is free. It is the only "free" VPN that I would ever suggest. Vivaldi is built on Chromium, if it works on Chrome it works on Vivaldi. Proton is based in Switzerland with a reliable record on respecting privacy and security of their users.
Don’t use a “free” VPN like Proton. They log your data and sell it. I’m in Mexico & have been using NordVPN for 4 years w zero issues. It’s $60/year & worth every cent.
I read your post not blaming BlueSky for the situation, it has more to do w/the Supreme Court allowing states to use age verification so of course Red states are jumping in to try & prohibit folks in their states from reading/posting. Please continue to be clear about BlueSky blocking Mississippi.
From my understanding of the ruling, this is likely a temporary situation. Do you have somebody located outside Misssissippi who can post for you?
Can you "move" to Georgia? Bounce everything out of a different state? Related from a few days ago:
Contact @proton.me to see if they would like to sponsor your organization with VPNs, I think this is right up their alley and would align with their mission.
Proton logs and sells your data. They’re going to have to pay if they want secure VPN access, unfortunately. I’ve used Nord from Mexico for 4 years w zero issues. 6 devices for their cheapest plan. $60/yr. I’ve also heard whispers about “retail home servers” from digital nomads that u can rent.
I've never had a single person say this until now. Proton's mission and terms are clear that this doesn't happen.
They arent based in Mississippi so why do they have to follow their state govt?
Is Amazon working in Mississippi? Does it require DOB?
Why can’t you just verify with BlueSky that the people posting on your page are 18+?
On the face of things, it seems that SC(R)OTUS has only rejected an emergency appeal, probably because the question needs a full hearing, and even Lord Justice Boofter sounds inclined to hold for the 1A. So maybe MFP could pull a trumpy here and just ignore the law until it's struck down.
So no social media at all in Mississippi?
Can you use VPNs?
As an unrelated aside, you should learn more about what VPNs are and how they work. Sorry to just randomly plop this down here as it's a completely separate conversation.
🎵 Don't fly, mister blue bird, I'm just walkin' down the road Early morning sunshine, tell me all I need to know🎵 (Another vote for VPN.)
Use a VPN. Mine makes it look like I'm in VA today. I'm not in VA.
This is exactly why every independent journalist needs a website they own and control zero2webmaster.com/control
AI art doesn't inspire confidence.
Thanks rhino face? Did you take that photo?
It's an illustration.
yeah, muted that account immediately
Seems to me that if you had an employee or volunteer in another state posting content, then you're perfectly within the bounds of the law and still within BlueSky's terms of service.
I won't be the first, but this isn't about @bsky.app, it's about Mississippi Be ready for this in the UK and anywhere else that IDs are becoming required to watch "adult content" We should support the platforms that resist this trend IDs for porn sites? Maybe But for social media sites? C'mon
Get your facts straight. Blue sky is not, it's a new law in the state of Mississippi.
I'm not seeing it, or the MFP, when I search the Fediverse. If you have Fediverse sharing turned off then you might want to enable it so that more people can follow you.
I’m not on Threads (& don’t want to be). Can you use a VPN? I sure hope so. This is awful. Btw I love Mississippi. Beautiful, fascinating state.
VPN?
Use a VPN
Hope a resolution comes soon but perhaps if the ms news comes from a source outside of ms-can rule be circumvented that way? Reach out to other Indy news reporters to see how they can help? Just off the cuff thoughts.
I know you don't know me but I would be happy to post on your behalf to your account from Washington
You you need a VPN this is crazy.
What’s going on?
Aw, Mississippi. You dumb, fucking infants.* *And you voted for infant-fuckers
Talk to your state legislature and governor…seems to me bluesky was left with little choice for the time being…
Here’s a hint at what you do next. Cc @nordvpn.bsky.social
I am so sorry for you and all the amazing people at @mississippifreepress.org you are one of the best Southern Publications ever.
This is insane!
Mastodon ?
Would a VPN help?
Is BlueSky blocking access? or is it the State of Mississippi blocking Blue Sky?
Mississippi is requiring large social networks to perform age verification and store personal information about users. The legal situation is likely to continue to evolve. BlueSky doesn't have an infrastructure to follow this new onerous requirement, so they are complying by blocking access.
givebutter.com/mfpdonate
Hmmm no this seems like Mississippi is shutting down access to social media. Would have been more honest of you to say that, and probably gotten more sympathy/support.
Yes, my hair on fire initial reaction to this massive blow wasn't worded perfectly, but I've already addressed this further in the thread: bsky.app/profile/asht...
ok fair enough. it is certainly a hair on fire moment, and I do sympathize.
This sucks, but I 100% agree with their position.
VPN
Use a VPN like everybody else. mullvad.net
Religion chiseling away at our Constitutional rights. Not everyone even knows what a VPN is never mind an added cost in a state like MS. They’re doing the same thing with pornography. And wherever you may stand on the topic it is protected under the 1A and should be protected like Blsky access.
@bsky.app WHY???????
Because MS legislators voted for it, and Bsky isn't interested in providing surveillance for the gov't. This shit is on MS voters, not Bsky.
Mastodon is my primary. Give it a try.
VPNs?
Guide folks to other AT protocol readers / posters?
My suggestion is to help anyone who is reading your paper, relocate to a state that doesn’t hate democracy. It’s never going to get better.
Can you VPN your way around it?
sounds more like mississippi is blocking bluesky
i was wrong my bad 🤐
no, you're pretty much correct. this is the actual intent of the law.
it's pointless to be mad at bluesky for not implementing ID verification in Mississippi, even if they did it for the UK. the two laws are different, and the MS law is much broader and more damaging.
it's definitely Bluesky doing the blocking here. Assuming under the threat of a penalty but I don't know what kind.
It's definitely pre-emptive caving. As someone who lives here in Arkansas I figure my days might be numbered here as well given my nepotism cornpone governor will almost certainly follow suit.
noooooo
Haha right? Here's hoping not.
I fully expect the great Bible belt firewall to be implemented, because "conservative" government can't have any credible threats to absolute authority, ever. Because something something freedom
Yep. All while pulling this shit.
"Pre-emptive caving" It's a Mississippi law, FFS!
Bluesky could implement some kind of age verification if they wanted to FFS! Not that I think they should, but in no way do they have to bail on the entire state either.
So, they could take either of the legal options, but you think they shouldn't take either, and somehow still offer services in the state? How would that work - would the state just not notice what they were doing? Ignore it? Shut it down and fine them?
$10K per violation I think
Bluesky has no choice in the matter. Unless they can afford to reconstruct their site to accommodate the Mississippi requirement to verify a users age, they will be breaking the law to continue serving the state. This was brought to you in Mississippi by your State Legislature and SCOTUS!
He's actually quoting the post from Bluesky saying we are being blocked in Mississipi, so I don't know how he could get it so twisted.
His post says BLUESKY IS BLOCKING MISSISSIPPI. So it’s a bit misleading. He should have wrote the opposite.
that’s my whole point
Oops forgot Alt text Bluesky says "for now we have made the difficult decision to block access in Mississippi"
touché
You are incorrect; BlueSky IS blocking Mississippi as a result of their age verification law.
people aren’t always smart
For Elon
MS is requiring age verification so in lieu of setting up a system to verify every user in Mississippi's age, Bluesky is simply blocking the whole state to protect themselves from violating MS law
Find an out of state portal
Sounds to me like the Mississippi legislature is blocking access. Not BlueSky. Elect new officials.
VPN my dude
I absolutely love all the supportive and helpful replies. Y’all are the best.
Er…. I’m calling bull shit on your post. Mississippi is doing the blocking.
He already clarified.
Important to note that UK and Australia both have age verification checks for child safety purposes. BlueSky is not blocked in either country. So why is it a problem in Mississippi?
BlueSky asked me to verify my age the other day. I'm in the UK. They had a process, it worked fine. Australian legislation is the strongest.
Aus doesn't come into effect until December though, so will see then if BlueSky gets blocked there.
shit, i'm sorry to hear this, Ashton.
VPN
Well, there's no stopping non-Mississippi residents from posting info from ⏬️ Not that anyone would do that, of course. 😏 Newsletter - Mississippi Free Press share.google/eDc1JFUWYEDR...
Do VPNs not work?
Use a vpn
Correct
VPN.
This is the ultimate goal with “child safety” block anything and everything that doesn’t adhere to the P2025 agenda. Overly broad definitions of “adult content” or overly broad “community standards”. All about control.
You mean fucking totally blocked? No access whatsoever? No posts, nothing?
Not a joke: attempt to get a VPN to sponsor you guys and use it to help educate your readers. This shit is only going to get worse. This whole circumstance fucking sucks, though, I’m so sorry.
Thanks Ben, I really appreciate it. It's a lot to navigate really suddenly.
Ashton, we can’t lose the valuable work y’all do here. Can you at least use a mastodon instance and bridge it here until you figure out a VPN solution?
Does Mastodon even have the money to comply with the law?
It’s not centralized as part of its protocol, so they’d have to file suit against individual instances and you can always shut one down and open up another, which is a pain in the ass, but so is filing suit against every instance that pops up
Well shit. I guess I might have to join Mastodon as much as I hate it.....
It’s a pain in the ass interface but there’s at least a bridge to bluesky that works well if you’re stuck in MS behind that godawful law
If you have any suggestions for any specific VPNs we should reach out to, my dms are open @bencollins.bsky.social
I’ve had good luck with Proton, and TorGuard is very good too. An option for extra security is to stack VPNs, which apparently works at the expense of speed
Genuinely, how would that work? Would it be routing all of your traffic through multiple VPN provider's servers or routing different parts of your traffic to different VPNs? I feel it would be unnecessary given you're just trusting *more* companies with your traffic.
Idk I don't double up but I've read about it as a security measure
Lots of options but the easiest is to use a provider like iVPN who includes double-hop as a default option in their client. I can go from the US to a country that doesn’t love the USA, and from there to a privacy friendly exit location like Switzerland.
Mullvad is the best out there. It preserved anonymity, allows crypto payments, and does not register email addresses or names.
I’ll second Mullvad! I have a Linux server in my office that I set up with a kill switch on the Internet if it ever loses connection. The switch has never been thrown because of Mullvad going down.
Third Mullvad Payment options are simple, flat price always Been using it for years.
NordVPN would sponsor a ham sandwich if it thought it might bring one more user to them. "Use code MISSISSIPPIHAM for 10% off your first month with NordVPN!"
Ben has a good idea, maybe you can harness the public radio stations to cover the story, too. I get the demographic issues you are dealing with, Ashton. Let’s brainstorm. I know it’s a lot, right now. I’ll do some thinking and ask some MS folks I know in those communities.
📌 MFP
I haven’t used it but ExpressVPN has a budget for sponsoring podcasts and small creatives. I learned of them from Uncle Roger
proton is fine, as is PIA, Tor, etc. all of them will probably have security/privacy concerns, tbh. would check out the EFF for stuff like this, or DM me (Mississippian in the security and software development space)
I’ve been pretty happy with Proton. Haven’t heard of Mullvad but sounds worth checking out.
Some helpful info on what VPNs can can’t do. www.instagram.com/reel/DLvZfDW...
NordVPN is nice and cheap and you basically just pick a city outside of MS and that's what bluesky should see (?). (I'm in Canada fwiw)
NordVPN sponsors every YouTube channel I watch.
NordVPN is what I use. No issues.
Proton Mail folks offer a FREE VPN @ ProtonVPN.Com. But you must look hard for it a read everything. Otherwise you get sucked into paying.
There’s also the idea of hosting your own ATProto server, or maybe joining one of the other small groups who do so. You don’t have to authorize any posts through Bluesky
riseup.net/en/vpn
mullvad.net/en
this right here is some Libural Rupert Murdoch shit and I love it. You GET it. 🚬😏🍺
To add onto this, this block should not impact any 3rd party appview so zeppelin.social will likely be unaffected and if its only client side deer.social will be unaffected as well. Both are still bluesky but with a different skin of paint.
Does X need age verification in MS?
They will, according to the law. But Musk has the $ for it.
Time to use a VPN for all their residents wishing to use BlueSky.
Wow!
Man, this sucks. Let me know if I can help.
People in red states are fucked. Anti-MAGA people are really going to have to develop a strategy to fight back. Project 2025 is on a roll and you have to figure first, how not to get crushed by it, and then, where and how to fight back and nullify it.
just use a VPN?
Raise hell with your state government. Every site with user supplied content is gonna have to block everyone in MS.
@mississippifreepress.org get a VPN fast!!!!
Wouldn't using a VPN work?
Yes. This "ban" is only a problem if you have less internet savvy than the average middle-school child.
I was only wondering because it seems so simple. But I don't know how VPNs work for an entire business. Sure seems to me it would work just fine. 🤷♀️
The problem is less for us at MFP and more for so many of our readers, whom we can't all expect to be internet savvy. This limits our reach to lost Mississippi readers on BlueSky no matter what we do on our end.
Oh man, yes....there's that. Yikes. So sorry. Maybe you can get a humongous break in price (or free) for users/subscribers in some sort of business package? I dunno, just an idea.
☹️
Oh, geez, Ashton. Let us know how we can continue to support you.
You need an affiliate in another state that will summarize your newsletter and still post to Bluesky. Don’t let let things go dark.
Why are you blaming Bluesky? It is due to a law in Mississippi!
Get a VPN.
Seems to me it's Mississippi blocking access to Mississippi. And that's probably the most s's I've ever put in a sentence.
I'm very confused on this, did you guys cover the law changing I hadn't heard of it until 30 minutes ago but have loved the reporting
We've either covered it ourselves or reposted AP stories on it for the past month. Here's the latest: www.mississippifreepress.org/supreme-cour...
thank you so so much I must have missed it sorry to make you do more work in a busy time
Was just about to ping you, but you saw it already. 🫠
Get your government to change its stupid censorship law. They're trying to censor citizens from opposing views and voices.
I subscribe so will still read by email, right?
Find someone outside of Mississippi to keep posting for you until/if this gets resolved?
By any chance, are you also on Mastodon?
VPN!!! We need you!
Do as UK users did when a similar situation occurred there; sign up for Proton VPN. A huge number of people did so and avoided the problem.
This is ridiculous! Free speech, anyone?!
Until the law is struck down as unconstitutional - which is on MS voters - (don't hold your breath), Bsky needs to comply.
Sounds like Mississippi is blocking BlueSky
I'm in Mississippi and NOT blocked. Maybe we're UNblocked now.
Yet. Read the thread
BlueSky seem able to do age verification for DMs in the UK, so there must be some particularly onerous method involved
From what I gather, it's indeed more onerous: - It requires tagging individual accounts as child or adult - the UK version is generally one-time - This requires keeping PII of users on file, with the compliance burden this implies - And it potentially requires the PII of EVERY SINGLE USER IN BSKY.
That certainly sounds even worse than our system
WTF! A STATE CAN BLOCK A PLATFORM? I THOUGHT ONLY CHINA AND RUSSIA DID THIS? GOD HELP AMERICA!
That's not exactly what's happening. MS required all platforms to age-screen so kids can't access inappropriate content, which sounds nice. But the burden of age-verifying every user is a logistical nightmare (and privacy concerns), so for now Bsky says "we can't let anyone in MS access the site."
whew! oh ok 🤣
I think you meant MISSISSIPPI is blocking @bsky.app but you wrote it backwards.
Read what the notice says, they, Bluesky, are blocking Mississippians.
True, buts its a difference without a distinction.
Red states are making these laws because they know they stomp on free speech.
The curtain comes down…
So? Fuck’em, quit blocking it.
This is the goal of laws of this kind. Rather than directly censor content, they attempt to induce withdrawal on the part of platforms and services they disapprove of by making it onerous and costly to maintain a presence. I doubt Bluesky was a target here, but I'm also certain they're not sad to..
see it caught in the crossfire. The most frustrating part is that the SCOTUS decision that's allowed this to go forward indicates Mississippi's law is likely a violation of Free Speech, but refuses to enjoin it, prefering to let unconstitutional actions stand pending decision instead of the reverse
😡😡😡
what the fuck
Upsetting
VPN
Signed up for the newsletter, and will go donate I'm so sorry
Can a vpn get you around it?
It's there readers in MS that they are concerned about.
Oh wow, humans losing their platform is like us raccoons losing a dumpster! But hey, maybe they’ll find a new shiny spot to dig into—more treasures for us to sniff out!
vpn
How many other platforms will scrub Mississippi because of new state regulations. No doubt, one must upload legal ID to engage in all Social media sites. What company wants to put out the expense for that.
european-alternatives.eu/alternative-...
No, BlueSky is not blocking access. It is obeying a law passed by reps voted in by MS voters. This is on MS voters and legislators. I know this is distressing for you, but blaming BlueSky is bullshit.
It's not an either/or. The MS law is BS, and yet it is also true that Bluesky is blocking all MS users.
Yes, it IS either/or. Bsky has to comply with the law (for now) or face legal penalties that could bankrupt the co., even while fighting the law. Yes, the MS law is bullshit, and NO, Bsky is not to blame for the loss of service for MS users. That's on MS voters.
It doesn't matter which way people voted. Not a single Democrat or Republican opposed the bill.
You folks in MS have problems I can't imagine having to solve. Bsky is attempting to be part of the solution to sites like Twitter, so I'm gonna keep reminding folks that it's the MS politicians who created this loss of service for their constituents, not Bsky.
I mean, I'm not sure what else BlueSky can do about it other than start collecting scans of Mississippi drivers licenses. I don't think they have the guts to refuse to comply and then fight (and probably lose) the inevitable charges in court.
@philipdefranco.bsky.social
BlueSky won't block links to their articles so it's up to us as users on BlueSky to share Mississippi Free Press articles. Maybe create a fan account specifically for sharing their articles is a way around them not allowing Mississippi Free Press to have their own BlueSky account?
No remote workers? Would that even work?
Yep bsky.app/profile/sock...
What's your email, Ashton? I'd like to be able to discuss this law with you and perhaps give you my story on how this horrible law with greatly affect my livelihood. Hope Taint sees what he's doing to us.
Wtf!
Currently using my VPN
Tell me again how BlueSky creates Mississippi legislation.
Have you tried using independent apps like deer.social? They should not be as vulnurable to US regulations
I am in UK. We have a recently introduced law requiring age verification. BlueSky were able to verify my age, and as you can see I am still here.
What about substack?
Probably the same thing that a number of other people in a number of other states have done, get a VPN (they're cheap).
I’m still able to access Bluesky at 6:13pm CDT and I definitely have a Mississippi IP. Maybe they’ll catch up to me soon and block my access. Hope not.
Gain presence on mastodon, ActivityPub needs love too and will actively encourage people to be in control of all their own platform, fully decentralized and federated. There are plenty hosts, from sdf, tilde, to even hosts by mastodon’s very own. Cheers to you, God speed.
BkueSky does not yet have age verification, so to be compliant, it makes sense. They will implement this feature soon, and MS will be back on.
It’s not It age verification. It’s surveillance.
Tell ppl to use the Opera browser that has a FREE VPN built in. www.opera.com/features/fre...
Give it time. We’ll follow.
I hate that it's impacting you, but I LOVE that a tech company isn't bowing to harmful laws that bring only surveillance and no benefit.
The Fediverse is OK at the moment, but some instances are geo-blocking. Might be worth getting a VPN and setting it for some place outside USA and UK. Maybe Canada or Iceland for decent speeds.
Subscribed!
i am sorry ashton your voice is so important here tbh
Agree
I’m so sorry
Oh no, I’m so sorry, Ashton! Thanks for the great work you do
blacksky.community is another client, actually probably great for @mississippifreepress.org subscribers the www.blackskyweb.xyz project is headed by @rudyfraser.com and is completely independent from Bluesky the company. Not just a different client but hosts their own infra! (same network as bsky)
other alt web clients: deer.social zeppelin.social tokimeki.blue reddwarf.whey.party 3 of the above are soft-open source forks of the bsky web client so familiar to bsky users but they are independently run. you could actually even selfhost your own client github.com/a-viv-a/deer...
this policy only affects Bluesky's official apps, so 3rd party mobile clients are safe: graysky.app www.skeetsapp.com and other "atproto" apps on the network are similarly unaffected like @pinksky.app @flashes.blue (instagram-like clients) atproto refers to the protocol that Bluesky runs on.
Surely you can just use a VPN It's what all the kids are going to be doing
i do t understand. is the verification just for tog or all? how do you verify? it’s usually just a question.
Another way for ICE , HHS etc to go over accounts for pictures of a bald JD Vance all while sitting behind a desk
so disappointing. Your publication is great!
Please be clearer. MS is emulating Russia, China and other totalitarian states by blocking websites
Don't blame BlueSky, blame your shit hole state 🤷♂️
Seems like a script could auto copy paste from an intrepid 3rd party's threads account to here?
Given that BlueSky has pretty solid support for programmatic posting, if @mississippifreepress.org and other restricted outlets were to post their stories on a structured feed (e.g. RSS), someone with a background in Computer Science (👀) could theoretically make a bot that unofficially reposts them
Ah, it looks like there's already an RSS feed 👀 www.mississippifreepress.org/feed/
And it looks like someone's already done the heavy-lifting of creating a BlueSky bot that automatically posts from an RSS feed 👀 github.com/MisterClean/...
Even better, there seems to be a GitHub Action for posting to BlueSky. I might write up a GitHub repo that uses this to automatically post links from a collection of user-defined RSS feeds 👀 github.com/cbrgm/bluesk...
Got a basic prototype working! Just have to get the URL to render properly as a hyperlink @mississippifreepress.org @ashtonpittman.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/niem...
Very cool! It *appears* as if we can still post through Buffer, but this could be a great help as backup!
Sounds good! I'm a Computer Science prof at UC San Diego; feel free to ping me if you want any help getting this stuff to work 😄
Thanks so much! Will do!
Got you a follow Mr Moshiri. Really appreciate what you’ve done, what you’re doing, what you might yet do in future. I’ve been a supporter of MSP, Mr Pittman (his partner and his beloved dog) for a long time (twitter verse) so this (waves arms) feels personal. Thank you. ✊🏼💪🏼
The bigger problem seems to be that people in MS -- their core audience -- can't get onto the bsky site at all.
Agreed that that's definitely the bigger problem, but it's unfortunately not a problem I can really help with from outside the state. All I can do is hopefully help stories from within the state reach folks outside
Unfortunately it seems necessary. There are people in other states that could help though?
Blame MAGAs in Mississippi. This is free speech suppression masquerading as “protecting children”.
You guys were my literal first thought.
I have a Mastodon account ready for backup. Threads will do whatever the regime wants.
How about you correct your post?
Mississippi is forcing them to remove access, report this correctly. BTW, there is something called a VPN
I get my news from you and one other!! what the hell!!!!
But there's zero problem accessing a porn site? Age verification is a joke
This is right this is an attack on Free speech and the weaponization of our own government against us. This is what you get, with a want to be Hitler. Rulers will get your rights minimized you by control by the government.
Use a VPN?
So this should be occurring to other news site as well.
This was the first thing I thought about.
VPN?
Would VPN work for them?
We left ‘X’ for BlueSky. We need this fixed. No one wants to go back to that hell whole formerly known as Twitter. @jay.bsky.team @rose.bsky.team
It's NOT Bsky. It's the state of MS. It's the state of MS. They passed a law. Bsky is doing its best *not* to collect or store data that can be subpoenaed by the gov't, or in the case of Twitter, just handed over.
This sucks - fucking fascist cancel culture
Time to invest in a VPN
They should protect children from poverty.
Your comment is wrong. BlueSky isn’t responsible for this. MISSISSIPPI REPUBLICANS are to blame. Put the blame where it belongs.
You're right that it's the Mississippi Legislature that's to blame, not Bluesky, but you're wrong to only blame Republicans. This bill was sponsored by Dem and Republican lawmakers a lot. And not a single Democrat or Republican voted against it. Zero.
Get a VPN
Sounds like Mississippi is blocking blue sky?
I appreciate the work and journalism you and the MFP does!
I hope you are able to regain access in short order.
TO Mississippi or FROM Mississipi? Or both?
Until they chicken out of their fascist rule: – Install Opera browser. – Activate VPN in setting. – A [VPN] button shows up next to the address bar that you can turn on/off.
Tor! @ashtonpittman.bsky.social download Tor Browser for posting. VPN is nice, but @torproject.bsky.social is widely used by dissidents all over the world and it's free, open source and secure. www.torproject.org/download/
You’ll buy a VPN hopefully
Easy fix.
Create a Mastodon instance and join the fediverse
Please use better messaging!?
Let's see: it could be the law of unintended consequences, but I think it's state nannies keeping their own populace uninformed of any view not espoused by the Faucks network. There is an appropriate line in the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes," but I won't quote it here.
Please consider joining one of the mastodon servers for news and journalism; many people won't touch a Zuckerberg/Meta platform the same way they won't touch a Musk one.
I live in Memphis and I follow your coverage. The app has been intermittently messing up for me, bc we are so close to MS. But I still follow!
VPN?
Well, your first report should be that Bluesky isn't BLOCKING access...Mississippi lost it.
No, they are following the law. They can't/won't meet the insane demands of MS, so they are following the law and not doing business there. They are refusing access so they can stay compliant.
I mean, BlueSky is in charge of the technical side while MS has passed the law. Usually when one party passes a law and a second party merely follows said law, we don't blame the second party for being law-abiding.
That's semantics. It's Mississippi law that is causing Bluesky to either block access, break the law, or spend a bunch of money on infrastructure to verify and track users.
They already do agree verification for the UK. I'm slightly confused as to why they don't just re-use those. Maybe Mississippi req'ments are different to those in the UK? Maybe the bluesky UK infra doesn't have the capacity? Maybe they are taking a stand to raise awareness and opposition?
They explain the difference - Mississippi requires every user hand over sensitive information and that Bluesky track those under 18, for all content. The UK does not. bsky.social/about/blog/0...
The key part is that the Mississippi law requires Bluesky to *track* underage users, which would be an incredible burden and could violate their 1st Amendment rights. The UK law *does not do that* and *only* users who want to see adult content need to submit age verification.
Yeah, but MS really wanted to own the libs. You didn't consider that.
Obligatory:
Also applies to users who want to use DMs.
In the UK we literally wanted them to just block the UK instead of comply with a nonsense law. The stupid technical workarounds Bluesky made are now part of the problem. Politicians hired tech consultants who said it was dumb so politicans just accused them of being paedos. bsky.app/profile/matt...
I mean how dumb is this? Please don't use a VPN the idiot politician pleads. Because obviously an adult logging into their corporate network from a cafe wifi (exactly same tech) is obviously harmful to children. What the fuck are the talking about? bsky.app/profile/jsra...
The polticial argument in the UK basically boils down to "If you disagree you are a paedo." We have had parental controls in OSes, browsers, routers for 20 years. Everyone complies. It's normal. Now they want to ban wikipedia because a child may learn about transition from an article in wikpedia.
Imagine how stupid & painstaking it would be to age rate all wikipedia pages using volunteer labour. How would you even do that? Why? Is a contraception page to be age gated? It's just unworkable and mental. What does it mean to be adult?
Please consider Mastodon! I know it doesn't help you here, but it is an excellent social media platform. Many, *many* news outlets of all kinds (& countries) are there. ✅
GET A VPN.
Can you get some help with posting from someone outside the state?
They had no choice in this. Also twitter
What about Ghost, the platform Rebecca Solnit uses, for Mississippi free press?
have you tried a different app like deck.blue? It's an open protocol so other atproto clients should still work I think
This is not about protecting the children, it's about MS engaging in & coercing a purity culture. This is like being forced to show ID to walk into a bookshop, or to buy a magazine just cos either may *possibly* have some mature content. It's denying adults their own agency, in the choices we make.
I haven't reviewed the law that had created this situation, but would the law prohibit your company from having an out-of-state employee manage your account? Obviously your in-state audience will have trouble finding your content but that's what happens with sudden state control.
Feels like a pretty easy case to say the Mississippi law breaks the first amendment by blocking your ability to express free speech in a public forum. We don't need ids to write it buy newspaper.
Really hard not to take that personally You folks do such great work. Necessary work. And so many other voices have been silenced.
Subscribed now!
VPN.
Hey, BlueSky didn't make the law, they are just not going to take on the cost of implementing it until it's actually settled. Weird to blame this on BS and not super fascist legislators in Mississippi.
Once, long ago, in the Before Times, I saw a news report on how Turkey tried to block the internet nationwide. 10yos got around it in a day. But then again, children in Turkey are able to speak multiple languages, so... 🤷🏼♂️
Mississippi wants to keep their people uninformed.
But they probably have access to tik tok. 😂
Graysky...
What does this mean? Obviously you're still here. I can see your account
Age verification didn’t stop @bsky.app in the UK 🤷♂️
UK gov't helped pay for the necessary retools of the site. We ain't in the UK.
nice to meet you. disabled black trans man here i'm going to be running for office, or try to but i'm poor. i'm on the verge of being homeless. i've contacted 211 and mutual aid orgs. it's not enough if you or anyone you know can donate/share it'd be much appreciated ca: mphighaf staying mad
That’s how you know you’re getting under their skin. Love it!
Suggestion if you don’t mind — change your signup to just email. Especially right now while you need signups. Good luck! We’re all in this together.
Here's an updated version: www.mississippifreepress.org/newsletters/
Thanks! Only email is required, text is optional. Maybe we should make that clear.
Sending all the best vibes. I know this is a potentially annoying question, but have you considered setting up a Mastodon account? I'm over there but not on Threads.
Although I think maybe I can follow your Threads account via Mastodon? I'll look into that...
I'm back on Threads for now, will follow over there and Masto.
get a VPN, that's about all it takes
Terrifying. I'm so worried for y'all (and us, too).
BlueSky isn't blocking because they want to. Mississippi passed a law requiring sites to do age verification. BlueSky doesn't have the $ for the tools needed for that. For now promote using VPNs as much as possible. www.techradar.com/vpn/best-bro...
www.techradar.com/vpn/best-bro...
do the legislators of Mississippi feel they should have more power over the children of Mississippi than their parents?
vpn?
Presumably the same regulation applies to eX.
Just use a VPN
It’s time for a VPN!
Does it only affect DMs? Can you read this?
More like Mississippi is blocking access to Bluesky.
Don’t blame the platform for your shithole State’s laws.
Ever been there? Or are you just taking your ignorance out for a public airing?
It’s not a shithole state. At least half the state is blue voters who are suppressed. It’s also one of the most beautiful states in the union (I’ve been to all 50) & full of valiant people fighting the good fight against racism, poverty and fascism. Bigotry is bad.
Used to do work at plant Daniel southern company pant in Mississippi! Very Kind uniformed people!
You could possibly look into Mastodon, maybe running your own server. I use it as a backup account to here
Bridgy Fed may be your savior in this situation. It's not ideal but it will help you maintain a presence here.
Thanks, Ernie! Happy to chat @ashtonpittman.bsky.social. I don't know all the implications of the law (not a lawyer!), but if bridging can help y'all, I'd be happy to guide you through setting things up.
cc @quillmatiq.com
Definitely! Also @ashtonpittman.bsky.social alternative apps/services like zeppelin.social and deck.blue should continue to work for you all
This is absolutely the perfect case for using ATproto’s foundations against censorship.
These reactionary age verification laws are a real plague on the internet, and we have WAY too many Democrats voting to advance them.
Yes. It means no more anonymity
They are web-illiterate
📌
VPN
