Bluesky, the popular social media platform, is taking a proactive stance to combat impersonation and enhance verification processes as more celebrities and influencers join the platform. The Bluesky Safety team recently announced that they have updated their impersonation policy to be more aggressive, stating that impersonation and handle-squatting accounts will be promptly removed.
To address the increasing concerns around impersonation, Bluesky has expanded its moderation team fourfold to ensure quicker response times to reports. However, due to a surge in new users, there is still a significant backlog of moderation reports that need to be addressed.
One of the challenges faced by Bluesky users is the lack of a verified user badge similar to other social media platforms like Twitter. Instead, Bluesky relies on signals such as verified domains in user handles to establish the authenticity of an account. For instance, users can identify legitimate Bluesky accounts by looking for the “bsky.team” domain in the handle.
In response to the confusion surrounding parody and fan accounts, Bluesky clarified that while these accounts are permitted, they must be clearly labeled as such in both the display name and bio. The company also emphasized that “identity churning,” the practice of repeatedly changing identities to gain followers, is strictly prohibited and will result in the removal of the account.
Bluesky CEO Jay Graber hinted at potential future developments in the verification process, suggesting that the platform may collaborate with other apps or organizations to provide additional verification options. Users may have the choice to trust Bluesky’s verification or opt for alternative verification methods in the future.
In conclusion, the Bluesky Safety team acknowledged user feedback regarding the need for more robust identity verification options beyond domain verification. They reassured users that they are exploring additional measures to enhance account verification and promised to provide updates on these efforts soon.