If you live in Mississippi, you may have noticed that you are no longer able to log into your Bluesky or Dreamwidth accounts from within the state. That’s because, in a chilling early warning sign for the U.S., both social platforms decided to block all users in Mississippi from their services rather than risk hefty fines under the state’s oppressive age verification mandate.

This consolidation of power is a dream come true for the Big Tech platforms, but it’s a nightmare for users. While the megacorporations get more traffic and a whole lot more user data (read: profit), users are left with far fewer community options and a bland, corporate surveillance machine instead of a vibrant public sphere. The internet we all fell in love with is a diverse and colorful place, full of innovation, connection, and unique opportunities for self-expression. That internet—our internet—is worth defending.

  • Dr. Moose@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    1 day ago

    Unfortunately sometimes it’s too late. Any platform can lock your account and keep your data until you unlock it and GDPR and similar do not protect against it. That’s what Twitter and LinkedIn started to do - require verification and no way to delete your account if you decline.

    • boonhet@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      3·
      21 hours ago

      Thanks to GDPR you can email them to have your data deleted though. In fact, it’s what I’d suggest. Give them extra work.

        • boonhet@sopuli.xyzEnglish
          2·
          20 hours ago

          Should be enough given it’s the same address the account was registered with.

          • Dr. Moose@lemmy.worldEnglish
            2·
            19 hours ago

            I’ve tried emailing LinkedIn with no response. Apparently this is not covered by gdpr because you still need to confirm identity

        • 1984@lemmy.todayEnglish
          41·
          1 day ago

          Ah you meant like that…

          Yeah, the power these companies have over our lives is very disturbing. They have positioned themselves as something most academic people really need, at least linkedin has.