Bluesky — Policy Change
Executive Summary
Bluesky launched a formal strike system with severity-based violation tracking and expanded post-reporting categories from 6 to 39, including new categories for youth harassment, eating disorders, and human trafficking content as required by the UK Online Safety Act. Users now receive detailed notifications about enforcement actions, including the specific policy violated, severity level, total violation count, and suspension duration.
What Happened
Bluesky introduced changes to its moderation system in November 2025, expanding post-reporting categories from 6 to 39 and implementing a formal strike system that tracks violations over time. The new reporting categories include specific options for youth harassment, eating disorders, and human trafficking content to comply with regulations including the UK Online Safety Act. Users now receive detailed notifications about enforcement actions that specify the policy violated, severity level, total violation count, and suspension duration.
Who Is Affected
All of Bluesky's 40 million users worldwide are affected by the new reporting and enforcement system. Users who violate Community Guidelines will receive more detailed information about their violations and cumulative strike counts. Users filing reports will have access to more specific reporting categories when flagging problematic content.
Why It Matters
This represents a significant shift in how a decentralized social platform handles content moderation at scale, moving from simple individual violation tracking to automated, cumulative enforcement systems similar to centralized platforms. The expansion from 6 to 39 reporting categories demonstrates how regulatory requirements like the UK Online Safety Act are driving substantive changes to platform governance structures. The increased transparency around strikes and violations sets a precedent for how emerging social networks communicate enforcement actions to users.
What You Should Do
Review Bluesky's updated Community Guidelines to understand what behaviors may result in strikes or suspensions. If you receive an enforcement notification, examine the specific policy violation, severity level, and cumulative strike information provided to understand your account status. Use the expanded reporting categories to more precisely flag problematic content when you encounter it on the platform.
AI-Assisted
Event summaries are generated by Claude AI from verified sources and reviewed by humans before publication.
Sources