Government censorship has come to #Bluesky.
LATEST:
On demands from the Turkish government, Bluesky restricted access to 72 accounts per a report from a Turkish NGO.
DETAIL:
Accounts are restricted for users in Turkey.
Accounts aren't banned from Bluesky's AT Protocol relays etc, but access is moderated at the official client level through geography-specific labels.
WORKAROUNDS?
Realistically impacted accounts are no longer visible to the majority of Bluesky users (most aren't on 3rd party clients) in Turkey.
However, since 3rd party client apps for the AT Protocol aren't forced to use geography-specific labels, they an still be used to view the content.
In theory, official client + VPN would also result in seeing the accounts.
LOOKING AT SOME DATA:
Bluesky has been publishing transparency reporting about legal & government requests. The most recent report covers 2024 and shows a relatively modest number of takedown requests, but about 50% response by Bluesky.
Unfortunately, the company doesn't differentiate between legal demands in civil litigation and *government* demands. This makes it hard to get a clear picture.
I hope Bluesky segments out these very different kinds of pressure in 2025 reporting so we can get a better sense of what's happening.
BIG PICTURE:
Looking ahead, governments are probing for new ways to enforce content restrictions. These are early days for Bluesky and it is likely that a lot more requests like this will be inbound as users head there to try and avoid the well-greased censorship machinery on legacy platforms like X.
Recommended reading & Sources:
Super-helpful-to-me TechCrunch article: https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/23/government-censorship-comes-to-bluesky-but-not-its-third-party-apps-yet/
Mastodon post confirming blocking with testing : https://mastodon.online/@mastodonmigration/114348331162291326
Bluesky post with the notification email screenshot: https://bsky.app/profile/aliskorkut.com/post/3lmul5pt34c2b
Bluesky 2024 Moderation Report: https://bsky.social/about/blog/01-17-2025-moderation-2024
Bluesky post describing geography-specific labels as a content-removal technique: https://bsky.social/about/blog/09-18-2024-trust-safety-update
dark bluesky
#quotestr
In Marseilles they make half the toilet soap we consume in America, but
the Marseillaise only have a vague theoretical idea of its use, which they
have obtained from books of travel.
-- Mark Twain
Has shipyard.pub been completely redesigned?
#shipyard
#quotestr
Your domestic life may be harmonious.
#quotestr
Q: What looks like a cat, flies like a bat, brays like a donkey, and
plays like a monkey?
A: Nothing.
Just your average high-signal day on NOSTR.
#SignalCleanse #NOSTRHygiene #ReclaimYourFeed #NostrMemes
Web of trust
#quotestr
Having nothing, nothing can he lose.
-- William Shakespeare, "Henry VI"
#quotestr
When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened
or not; but my faculties are decaying now and soon I shall be so I
cannot remember any but the things that never happened. It is sad to
go to pieces like this but we all have to do it.
-- Mark Twain
#quotestr
Your aims are high, and you are capable of much.
#quotestr
Don't go surfing in South Dakota for a while.
#quotestr
We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is
in it - and stay there, lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot
stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again - and that
is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one any more.
-- Mark Twain
#quotestr
Its name is Public Opinion. It is held in reverence. It settles everything.
Some think it is the voice of God.
-- Mark Twain
Probability 0.03%
Something that was never been done before
From a #quantum point of view a time capsule is an interesting experiment, because the persons who put the things in the capsule are now dead, and the persons opening it actually the Observers, who are going to see what they 'think' should be in the box.
An app I would like to see exist, 'nuke my account' which would delete all notes and empty the account metadata
Perl is more like linux command shell with extra features