Privacy

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Mastodon says it doesn't 'have the means' to comply with age verification laws | TechCrunch (techcrunch.com)

submitted 3 days ago by Zerush@lemmy.ml to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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Mastodon, the decentralized social network, stated it cannot comply with age verification laws like Mississippi's recent legislation because it lacks the technical capability to do so[^1]. While Mastodon's software allows server administrators to specify a minimum age of 16 for sign-ups, the age-check data is not stored, and the nonprofit has no way to verify users' ages[^1].

The organization emphasizes that individual server owners must decide for themselves whether to implement age verification, noting that Mastodon was founded specifically "to allow different jurisdictions to have social media that is independent of the U.S."[^1]

This stance follows Bluesky's decision to block service in Mississippi over similar age verification requirements[^1]. Mastodon's position highlights the unique challenges decentralized platforms face with regional compliance, as there is "nobody that can decide for the fediverse to block Mississippi," according to Mastodon founder Eugen Rochko[^1].

[^1]: TechCrunch - Mastodon says it doesn't 'have the means' to comply with age verification laws

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[–] HiddenLayer555@lemmy.ml 13 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Also, they dumb it down in order to make it readable for the widest possible audience so they get the highest possible revenue.

IDK if it's just me growing up but I swear news from when I was a kid was more technically worded than now. We literally used news articles in school to learn technical words. Now they're so patronizing.

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 11 points 3 days ago

Oh for sure, I find most tech news articles are just painful to read nowadays. I also distinctly remember this was not the case before.