Bluesky boosts safety tools as user numbers continue to rise
21 February 2025, 17:24
The social media site has seen its user numbers more than double between November and January as users continue to flee Elon Musk’s X.
Bluesky has signed up to a range of online safety tools as the social media site continues to grow as users flee Elon Musk’s X.
The platform has become a member of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), the non-profit organisation which helps find and remove child sexual abuse material on the internet.
By joining the IWF, Bluesky will gain access to a range of tools and services designed to help spot and identify child abuse material, including a list of webpages known to contain such content.
The platform has seen a massive spike in user numbers in recent months, in particular in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, where he was heavily backed by Mr Musk and his X platform.
The Tesla and SpaceX owner’s tenure at X has been highly debated since he bought the site, then known as Twitter, in late 2022.
Mr Musk dismissed the majority of the firm’s staff, drastically cut back on content moderation, dissolved the site’s trust and safety council and restored the accounts of a number of high-profile users previously banned for breaching site rules around hate speech.
A further string of disputes, often involving Musk himself reposting misinformation and conspiracy theories, has seen users and advertisers leave the site in large numbers, with many people turning to Bluesky as an alternative.
The platform said that, since November, its user numbers have risen from 13 million to more than 30 million, but said this rise had also seen an uptick in harmful content appearing on the platform, which it has responded to by expanding its content moderation team and safety tools.
The IWF has also warned about the growing volume of child sexual abuse material appearing online.
The organisation said that, in 2024, it discovered more webpages containing abuse material than ever before in its 29-year history.
Derek Ray-Hill, interim chief executive of the IWF said: “It is a sad reality that the insidious spread of child sexual abuse images and videos continues at pace on the internet. Last year, the IWF found record levels of URLs containing the sexual abuse of children, more than ever before.
“Every time this imagery is viewed, shared or sold, child abuse victims all over the world suffer repeatedly. We are in the midst of a child sexual abuse crisis and governments, the tech industry and society need to come together to find solutions and tackle this issue as one.
“Our tried-and-tested tools for detecting and removing criminal content are a first step in ensuring that the internet is a safer space for children and we are pleased to see Bluesky making a commitment to child protection online and prioritising the safety of their users.”
Aaron Rodericks, Bluesky head of trust and safety, said: “This partnership marks a significant step forward in our fight against child sexual abuse material, and we look forward to working with IWF to keep our users safe from harmful content and ensuring a safer online environment.”
