December 19, 2025
Passport please, then DM
I have to give Fortnite my passport to use Bluesky
Ohio’s ID wall turns Bluesky DMs into a Fortnite checkpoint
TLDR: Bluesky users in Ohio must verify adulthood via an Epic Games tool to access DMs, thanks to a new state law. Commenters cried “surveillance creep,” debated censorship vs. child safety, and asked why Fortnite is guarding their inbox—highlighting growing ID walls and data risk across everyday online platforms.
Welcome to the weirdest holiday travel problem: in Ohio, Bluesky users are being told to prove they’re adults before they can even read their DMs—by handing over ID to an Epic Games subsidiary. The community lit up with dystopia vibes, calling it an internet-wide “ID wall” creeping in by law. One commenter waved an Ohio Attorney General press release claiming most top porn sites aren’t complying anyway, so the rule hits regular platforms like Bluesky while the intended targets skate. Another went full conspiracy-horn: the UK’s Online Safety Act isn’t about kids, it’s about controlling public discourse, they said, citing government chatter and chilling examples. The result? Censorship vs. child safety slap-fight in the replies.
There was also peak HN meta-drama: mods auto-yeeted “Why” from the title, prompting eye-rolls and jokes about headline power-trimming. And the crowd demanded clarity: “Wait, why is Fortnite checking my DMs?”—leading to the simple answer that Bluesky likely licensed Epic’s age tool rather than building their own. Memes flew: “Boss battle to enter your inbox,” “Show passport to send a cat pic,” and “DMs are apparently NSFW in Ohio.” With recent breaches of verification vendors haunting the thread, trust in handing IDs to game companies hit zero. The mood? Suspicious, sarcastic, and absolutely not ready to hand over passports for a private message.
Key Points
- •Ohio’s age-verification law (effective late September) requires certain websites to block access unless users prove they are adults.
- •Bluesky restricts DM access in Ohio and uses an Epic Games-operated age assurance service, which requests sensitive personal identifiers.
- •The article says pornography sites like Pornhub are not complying, and Ohio’s attorney general plans legal action next year.
- •A separate age verification provider was breached, potentially exposing about 70,000 government IDs from Discord users.
- •The article links age-verification mandates to broader UK and US efforts, notes alleged censorship under the UK Online Safety Act, and mentions VPN circumvention.