Decentralized social network competitor to Bluesky, X and Threads, announced It is making further changes to its moderation process on Wednesday. Specifically, the company said it is introducing new updates to how it tracks violations of its Community Guidelines and enforces its policies. This includes adding new reporting categories to the app, changes to its “strike” system for violations, and providing more guidance to those who violate the rules.
There are moderation changes being released with the latest version of the Bluesky app (v. 1.110), which also includes a dark-mode app icon and a Redesigned feature To control who can reply to your posts.
The company says the moderation update is a result of Bluesky’s rapid growth and the need for “clear standards and expectations for how people behave with each other” on the platform.
“On Bluesky, people are meeting and falling in love, being recognized as artists, and debating specific topics in cozy corners. Plus, some of us have developed a habit of saying things behind the screen that we would never say in person,” the company shared in an announcement explaining the changes.
However, the news is also most recent moderatedIon dust and soil On the stage, who saw a user suspended For making a comment that Bluesky interpreted as a threat of violence. Author and Influencer Sarah Kendzior A post on Bluesky read that she “wanted to shoot the author of this article to see him die” – a reference to johnny cash song lyricsThat choice of words was appropriate because she was commenting on an article about Johnny Cash that she didn’t like,
Bluesky’s team said that Kendzior was suspended because he expressed “a desire to fire the author of the article” – a very literal reading of his comment.
With the updated rules, Bluesky is focusing on ensuring that the platform maintains a sense of community and does not devolve into the toxicity that now promotes X, where sarcastic comments, stings, and hateful remarks are often the norm.
For starters, Bluesky is expanding the reporting options on posts from six to nine, giving users more precision in flagging issues and helping moderators take action on important reports more quickly. For example, you can now report things like youth harassment or bullying or eating disorders, which will help address Bluesky’s need to comply with new laws designed to protect minors online. Additionally, it will allow users to flag potential human trafficking content to meet the requirements of the UK Online Protection Act.
To assist with this, Bluesky has improved its internal tools to automatically track violations and enforcement actions in one place. The system will also ensure that people get clear information about what happened and where they stand.
The company notes that it is not changing what it implements, only that it has improved its tooling to be more consistent and transparent with its implementation.
As part of this, Bluesky’s strike system will now give content a severity rating, which will help guide enforcement action taken. For example, content marked as “critical risk” will result in a permanent ban. Other materials may face low, medium or high fines. And if an account commits a violation, the user may also risk a permanent ban rather than a temporary suspension.
Additionally, the company says that when users are the subject of enforcement action they will be notified of which Community Guidelines they have violated, the severity level assigned, their total violation count, how close they are to the next account-level action threshold, and the duration and expiration date of any suspension. The company said the enforcement action could also be appealed.
These changes also come after the rollout of the Bluesky update Community Guidelines In October, as part of its broader focus on becoming more aggressive about moderation and enforcement on the platform.
But even though the company is emphasizing its strict rules, some Bluesky users are angry that the company still allows a user who is widely criticized for writing on trans issues to maintain his account on the platform. The controversy flared up again in October, when Bluesky CEO Jay Graber appeared to dismiss criticism from users in some posts.
At the heart of the issue is what Bluesky wants to look like versus what it is today.
The company does not want to be known as merely a leftist or liberal version of Twitter; It wants to be a home where many different communities can create their own networks and flourish without the problems of centralized social networks. However, most of the community adopting Bluesky did so because they no longer felt represented on Twitter/X, which became more right-wing under new owner Elon Musk.
In addition to wanting to shape its image, Bluesky must balance its goals with a growing number of laws and regulations that require social platforms to protect their users from harm or face potentially serious consequences such as massive fines. For example, earlier this year Bluesky blocked its service in Mississippi, saying it did not have the resources to meet the state’s age assurance law, which would have fined the network up to $10,000 per user for noncompliance.
