Aug 15, 2025 11:50:00

Bluesky updates its terms of service and guidelines, clarifying specific examples of prohibited content to comply with EU and US laws

In July 2025, Bluesky, which

added an age verification feature to comply with the UK's Online Safety Act (OSA), announced that it would revise its policies and community guidelines to comply with the OSA, as well as the EU's Digital Services Act (ESA) and the US Take It Down Act.

Updated Terms and Policies - Bluesky
https://bsky.social/about/blog/08-14-2025-updated-terms-and-policies

In the coming weeks, we're asking for feedback on our Community Guidelines. Your input will help ensure our Guidelines serve our users and are ready to support Bluesky's future.

To learn how to contribute, check out our blog post: bsky.social/about/blog/0...

[image or embed]

— Bluesky ( @bsky.app ) August 15, 2025 1:32

The UK's Online Safety Act and the US's Take It Down Act have both been enacted as laws aimed at protecting children online. Social media site Bluesky is updating its policies to comply with these laws.

UK's online safety law comes into effect, criticised as effectively shutting out small site operators from the internet - GIGAZINE

The online safety bill 'Take It Down Act' is too broad and could lead to unintended censorship - GIGAZINE

The revised Community Guidelines are based on four main principles: 'Safety First,' 'Respect for Others,' 'Pursue Authenticity,' and 'Follow the Rules.' Specific examples of permitted and prohibited content will be provided for each principle.

Additionally, the harmful categories will be clarified and more specific examples will be added to comply with the OSA, DSA, and Take It Down Act. The enforcement process will also be regulated by a graduated enforcement model in line with the requirements of the OSA and DSA, and content moderation procedures will be clearly documented. Furthermore, guidelines for extra-judicial remedies will be added for EEA (European Economic Area) users in accordance with the DSA.

Our Terms of Service will be updated to clarify our compliance with online safety laws and regulations, including the OSA, and to require age verification where necessary. We will also add details on how we deal with illegal content and our appeals process to comply with the DSA.

These changes will take effect from September 15, 2025.

Please note that when you access Bluesky from your PC, a dialog box informing you about this matter may appear.