# Bluesky is rolling out age verification in the UK

Source: https://www.theverge.com/news/704468/bluesky-age-verification-uk-online-safety-act
Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Bluesky-is-rolling-out-age-verification-in-the-UK?index=0x6870eae2acdf707d3387be014b263df583de657838ea373f24b30ca2548344c3e0611f4c
Submitted by misha on 2025-07-11 UTC, 4 upvotes, 1 comment

## Summary

Bluesky is adding age verification in the UK to comply with the Online Safety Act, letting users verify their age by scanning their face, uploading an ID, or entering a payment card. The verification runs through Kid Web Services (KWS), an Epic Games-owned tool that developers use for age checks and parental controls. Users who don't verify, or who are under 18, will still have accounts with some features limited, including direct messaging and access to "adult-appropriate content." The article notes that another part of the law takes effect on July 25th, requiring sites with porn and harmful content to provide "highly effective age assurance," with fines of up to £18 million or 10 percent of worldwide revenue.

## Article

Emma Roth

is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.

Bluesky is adding age verification to its platform in the UK as part of efforts to comply with the country’s Online Safety Act. In an update on Thursday, the platform says it will let users verify their age by scanning their face, uploading an ID, or entering a payment card.

Bluesky will perform age verification through Kid Web Services (KWS), an Epic Games-owned tool that developers can use to implement age verification and parental controls on their platforms. If users don’t want to verify their age, or if they’re under 18, they will still be able to have an account with certain features limited. Bluesky will block “adult-appropriate content” and turn off certain features, such as direct messaging.

Image: Bluesky

The UK passed the Online Safety Act in 2023, which privacy advocates have warned will “lead to a much more censored, locked-down internet for British users.” Another part of the law is coming into force on July 25th, requiring sites and apps containing porn and harmful content to provide “highly effective age assurance.” Platforms that don’t comply with the new rules will face fines of up to £18 million ($24 million) or 10 percent of their worldwide revenue, whichever is higher.

Once the age requirements take effect, Bluesky says it will show a notification to users in the UK asking them to verify their age. Based on the images shared by Bluesky, it looks like UK users will first have to register their email with KWS, which will send them instructions on how to verify their age. “In addition to these updates, we’ll continue to look at how we’re doing to shield children from unwanted content, and how we can improve,” Bluesky writes in the update.

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Emma Roth

## Comments

**misha**: so much for decentralization:

> Bluesky will perform age verification through Kid Web Services (KWS), an Epic Games-owned tool that developers can use to implement age verification and parental controls on their platforms.