Bluesky, which was started in 2019 as a decentralized version of Twitter, has exploded in popularity in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory, as many X users have sought alternatives to the Elon Musk-owned platform. — Photo by MARIO TAMA/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP
Bluesky said it’s working to comply with European Union rules after the bloc accused the fast-growing social media platform of flouting its digital regulations.
The company is consulting with its lawyer to follow the EU’s information disclosure rules, a Bluesky spokesperson wrote Tuesday in an email.
Bluesky, which was started in 2019 as a decentralized version of Twitter, has exploded in popularity in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory, as many X users have sought alternatives to the Elon Musk-owned platform.
The EU’s executive arm on Monday said Bluesky didn’t provide information it was required to share under the bloc’s Digital Services Act, which governs content on social media sites.
"All platforms in the EU have to have a dedicated page on their websites where it says how many user numbers they have in the EU and where they are legally established,” Thomas Regnier, the commission’s spokesperson on digital matters, told reporters. "This is not the case with Bluesky, so this is not followed.”
The company reported adding 1 million users in a single day on Nov 15, and Bluesky Chief Executive Officer Jay Graber said last week the platform had surpassed 20 million users.
Celebrities active on Bluesky include rapper Lizzo and comedian Ricky Gervais, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who created an account in recent days.
Under the DSA, platforms with more than 45 million users in the bloc qualify as "very large online platforms” and need to follow stricter content moderation rules under the commission’s supervision. Breaches can result in fines of up to 6% of their global annual sales.
The EU is carrying out high-profile actions against social networks X, TikTok and Meta Platforms Inc., as well as ecommerce services AliExpress and Temu, as it leans into its role of global tech enforcer.
Smaller platforms are still required to comply with the law, but are regulated by the EU country where they have a legal presence. That’s so far unclear in the case of Bluesky, which was created expressly to avoid a centralized ownership structure.
The commission asked EU member countries’ national authorities to investigate "and see if they can find any trace of Bluesky” in their jurisdictions, Regnier said. – Bloomberg
