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.

      • null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        2·
        23 hours ago

        Well, sure ok it’s “avoidable” in the sense that I’m not forced to engage with facebook or any other company or platform.

        However, the imposition on my daily functioning and ability to interact with my peers would be severely disaffected.

        If there’s a group of a dozen people that I know in person who are interacting on whats app, then if I want to interact with them I need to use whats app.