Bluesky, a social network currently gaining popularity due to an exodus of users from competitor X, violates European Union (EU) regulations that require all online platforms to regularly publish the number of users in their region.
The Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into full force in February, is an online governance framework that aims to increase transparency and combat illegal and harmful content across various online platforms, social networks, marketplaces, and more. Platforms and intermediaries classified as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) have the strictest obligations, but certain rules apply to all online service providers.
Article 24 of the DSA requires all online platforms serving the EU market to report the number of users in their region twice a year in “publicly accessible sections of their online interface.” The social network formerly known as Twitter has been doing just that, as has Meta, but Bluesky appears to have missed the memo, according to a report in the Financial Times on Monday.
Under the
DSA, platforms can be fined up to 1% of their global annual revenue for information reporting breaches.
Bluesky recently reported over 20 million users worldwide. However, to comply with the DSA, the company would need to specifically classify its EU users and disclose the information on its website in accordance with the EU’s biannual reporting protocol.
The Financial Times quotes European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier, who told reporters about the violation during a Monday press briefing: “All platforms in the EU . . . have to have a dedicated page on their website where it says how many users they have in the EU and where they are legally established,” said commission spokesman Thomas Regnier. “This is not the case for Bluesky as of today. This is not followed.”
Currently, Bluesky’s cumulative global user count of 20 million clearly means that the platform is well below the 45 million monthly user threshold to be classified as a VLOP under the DSA. However, because some of the transparency disclosures in this regulation apply to platforms in general, the European Commission (EC) has written to member states where the general rules are generally in force, asking if they can “find traces of Bluesky” in their countries, e.g., entities that can be contacted to request relevant information.
“Article 24 of the Digital Services Act actually requires all online platforms in the EU, including BlueSky, to report the number of users on their websites twice a year (in February and August),” European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier (EK) said in a statement published to TechCrunch. “This will help the European Commission monitor market developments and potentially classify or declassify platforms as [VLOPs] if they reach the threshold of 45 million monthly active users in the EU.”
