Bluesky deploys major improvements to policy and community guidelines

Two years after its launch, social network Bluesky has revised its community guidelines and other policies, seeking feedback from users on some changes. The startup, a competitor of X, threads and open networks like Mastodon, says its new policy aims to improve clarity and detail about user safety procedures and appeal processes.

Many of the changes are driven by new global regulations, such as the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA), the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), and the US Takedown Act.

Some changes represent Bluesky’s efforts to intentionally shape the behavior of the community and users, and tweak them to better respect others. This comes after a series of complaints and media articles that suggest that the community tends to be self-esteem, bad news sharing, lack of humor and diversity in thought.

For regulatory compliance, Bluesky’s Terms of Use have been updated to comply with online safety laws and regulations and to require age guarantees where necessary. In July, for example, the UK’s online safety law began requiring platforms with adult content to implement age verification. This means that domestic Bluesky users will need to use the site by scanning their faces, uploading their IDs, and entering their payment cards.

The complaints and appeals process has also become more detailed.

One notable update refers to the “Informal Dispute Resolution Process.” Here, Bluesky agrees to talk to users about the dispute over the phone before a formal dispute process takes place. “We believe that most conflicts can be resolved informally,” Bluesky said.

This is completely different to what happens on large social networks like Facebook and Instagram. Users are prohibited without understanding what they made a mistake and have no way of complaining about how to get in touch with the company.

Bluesky also says it will allow certain harm claims to be resolved in court rather than through arbitration. This is also somewhat unusual for high-tech companies that prefer to mediate disputes outside the courts.

However, BlueSky users may be interested in the proposed changes to the Community Guidelines that they are invited to provide feedback. (The changes will take effect on October 15th, 2025 after the feedback period is completed.)

These revised guidelines are organized around four principles: Safety, respect others, be authentic and follow the rules. These general principles are intended to guide Bluesky’s moderation decisions as to whether content should be labeled or removed if a company can suspend or ban its accounts, or in some cases report it to law enforcement.

Bluesky’s rules include many common sense policies regarding not promoting violence or harm (including self-harm and animal abuse). They have not posted any content that is illegal or sexualized to minors (including roleplay). Do not allow harmful actions such as Doxxing or other unconsensual personal data sharing. We also do not post spam or malicious content.

It opens up rules of journalism, parody and satire. For example, journalists engaged in “fact reporting” can post on other topics, such as criminal activity and violence, mental health, online safety, and other topics, warnings of online virus challenges that may be harmful.

What BlueSky can get in trouble is the nuance of what is considered “threat,” “harm,” or “abused.”

The policy states that users need to “respect others” by not posting, promoting or encouraging “hate, harassing, or bullying.” As an example, policy prohibits exploitative deepfakes and content that “incite discrimination or hatred” meaning posts that attack an individual or group based on “racial, ethnic, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or other protected characteristics.”

This is an area that Bluesky previously upset when its moderation decisions were strained with its relationship with the Black community, and in another case, when mitigation failures angered the trans community.

Recently, the company has faced backlash, quickly criticizing users and hatred replies, and a general lack of humor in the community.

The first idea behind BlueSky was to provide users with tools to create the communities they need, not just block and reporting tools, but also subscribed block lists and value-matched opt-in moderation services. However, BlueSky users have shown that the app itself prefers to handle much of its moderation, opposes its trust and safety department, and opposes its trust and safety department when making decisions.

Additionally, Bluesky’s Privacy and Copyright Policy have been rewritten to comply with global laws relating to user rights, data transfer, retention and deletion, takedown procedures, transparency reporting, and more. Both of these will come into effect on September 15th, 2025 and will not have a feedback period for either.