Bluesky Rolls Out New Community Guidelines

Bluesky, a social network competitor of X, Threads and other open networks including Mastodon, is revisiting its community guidelines and other user policies to provide more clarity around user safety procedures and the related appeals process. These changes are driven by user reports that the site is a breeding ground for “bad news sharing” and lacks diversity of thought, as well as the development of new global regulations regarding social media usage, including the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act (OSA), the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), and the United States’ TAKE IT DOWN Act.

Some of the key changes to Bluesky’s community guidelines and user policies include an updated Terms of Service to comply with the rollout of new online safety laws, and a more detailed process for complaints and appeals. For example, the platform has introduced an “informal dispute resolution” mechanism, where Bluesky agrees to talk on the phone with a user about their dispute before any formal proceedings take place. “We think most disputes can be resolved informally,” Bluesky notes.

Bluesky also announced a new option for users to resolve certain claims in court instead of through arbitration. This represents a different approach than that taken by some of its competitors, such as Facebook and Instagram, who prefer to settle disputes outside of court.

Finally, Bluesky updated its community guidelines, now organized around four principles: safety, respecting others, being authentic and following the rules, which are intended to guide both users and the company in handling disputes.

These changes will be subject to a feedback period and will go into effect following completion of the feedback period on October 15, 2025.

Author: Serayah Jamadar, 2025/2026 Articling Student-at-Law