Blogging platform Dreamwidth Studios has enacted new access restrictions for users in Mississippi and is limiting account creation for teens in Tennessee, pointing to serious legal threats posed by recent state-level age verification mandates.
Laws like those in Mississippi and Tennessee are forcing the creation of a de facto digital ID system that undermines both privacy and free expression.
By requiring users to verify their age, often through government-issued ID or other sensitive personal data, these measures strip away the ability to speak, read, or participate online anonymously.
This not only compromises individual privacy but also deters people from engaging in lawful but sensitive conversations, such as those related to health, politics, or identity.
As of September 1, users in Mississippi are blocked entirely from accessing the site, with Dreamwidth stating it is “being forced to block access to any IP address that geolocates to the state of Mississippi for legal reasons while we and Netchoice continue fighting the law in court.”
The law in question, Mississippi House Bill 1126, known as the Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act, imposes requirements that Dreamwidth says present an existential legal risk to the platform.
Visitors from Mississippi are instead redirected to an informational page explaining the situation. According to Dreamwidth, “people whose IP addresses geolocate to Mississippi will only be able to access a page that explains the issue and lets them know that we’ll be back to offer them service as soon as the legal risk to us is less existential.”
The platform emphasized that it does not conduct its own geolocation and relies on its network provider’s services, which have known inaccuracies. As they explained, “we don’t do geolocation ourselves, so we’re limited to the geolocation ability of our network provider,” adding that their provider’s database “has a number of mistakes in it.”
Users incorrectly blocked as being in Mississippi can only regain access by either resetting their IP address or using a VPN, since “there is nothing we can do on our end to adjust the block, because we don’t control it.”
In Tennessee, where a similar law has been passed requiring parental consent and surveillance for social media use by minors, Dreamwidth is taking a more limited approach.
Dreamwidth noted that while “the Tennessee law is less onerous than the Mississippi law and the fines for violating it are slightly less ruinous (slightly), it’s still a risk to us.”
Rather than blocking the entire state, Dreamwidth is now preventing anyone under 18 in Tennessee from signing up for a new account.
This policy is being implemented through a new question on the signup form that asks users whether they live in Tennessee. If they do, and they’re under 18, they won’t be able to register. The platform acknowledged that “this only applies to new account creation” and not existing accounts.
Dreamwidth expressed frustration at having to enforce these restrictions, saying, “like the restrictions on the state of Mississippi, we absolutely hate having to do this, we’re sorry, and we hope we’ll be able to undo it as soon as possible.”
The platform also thanked its community for their ongoing support, both financially and emotionally, throughout its legal battles. “The fact we’re entirely user-supported and you all genuinely understand why this fight is so important for everyone is a huge part of why we can continue to do this work.” Messages of encouragement have even been passed along to their legal team, with Dreamwidth adding, “they find your wholehearted support just as encouraging and motivating as I do.”
Privacy-focused platforms Mastodon and Bluesky are also impacted by these new state laws requiring strict age verification, with both warning that the mandates threaten user privacy and free expression.
Bluesky has fully blocked access in Mississippi, where a new law requires platforms to verify users.
The company said complying would force them to build invasive systems that violate user trust, warning the law creates “prohibitive financial barriers” and threatens freedom of speech.
Mastodon, which is decentralized and does not collect user data, said it “doesn’t have the means to comply with age verification laws.” Because each server is independently run, enforcement would be inconsistent and technically unmanageable without undermining its privacy-first model.
