Social networking startup Bluesky has made the decision to block access to its service in the state of Mississippi, rather than comply with a new age assurance law.
In a blog post published on Friday, the company explains that, as a small team, it doesn’t have the resources to make the substantial technical changes this type of law would require, and it raised concerns about the law’s broad scope and privacy implications.
Mississippi’s HB 1126 requires platforms to introduce age verification for all users before they can access social networks like Bluesky. On Thursday, U.S. Supreme Court justices decided to block an emergency appeal that would have prevented the law from going into effect as the legal challenges it faces played out in the courts.
As a result, Bluesky had to decide what it would do about compliance.
Instead of requiring age verification before users could access age-restricted content, this law requires age verification of all users. That means Bluesky would have to verify every user’s age and obtain parental consent for anyone under 18. The company notes that the potential penalties for noncompliance are hefty, too — up to $10,000 per user.
Bluesky also stresses that the law goes beyond child safety, as intended, and would create “significant barriers that limit free speech and disproportionately harm smaller platforms and emerging technologies.”
To comply, Bluesky would have to collect and store sensitive information from all its users, in addition to the detailed tracking of minors. This is different from how it’s expected to comply with other age verification laws, like the U.K.’s Online Safety Act (OSA), which only requires age checks for certain content and features.
Mississippi’s law blocks anyone from using the site unless they provide their personal and sensitive information.
“Unlike tech giants with vast resources, we’re a small team focused on building decentralized social technology that puts users in control,” the company’s blog post read. “Age verification systems require substantial infrastructure and developer time investments, complex privacy protections, and ongoing compliance monitoring — costs that can easily overwhelm smaller providers. This dynamic entrenches existing big tech platforms while stifling the innovation and competition that benefits users,” it noted.
Some Bluesky users outside Mississippi subsequently reported issues accessing the service due to their cell providers routing traffic through servers in the state, with CTO Paul Frazee responding Saturday that the company was “working deploy an update to our location detection that we hope will solve some inaccuracies.”
The company’s blog post notes that its decision only applies to the Bluesky app built on the AT Protocol. Other apps may approach the decision differently.
This post has been updated to reflect user issues outside Mississippi and Bluesky’s response.
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![Palantir Debuts Chic Chore Coat So the World Knows You’re One of the Baddies
This week, Palantir announced the upcoming release of a new chore coat branded with the company’s logo. The company has been releasing gear since 2024, and this new coat is a great way to tell everyone what you stand for. Specifically, it communicates to everyone in your immediate vicinity that you support ICE and aren’t a big fan of civil liberties. Palantir’s head of strategic engagement Eliano A. Younes tweeted the chore coat this week, which he says will be released on April 30. the lightweight Palantir chore coat [04.30.2026 • 0930 AM EST] pic.twitter.com/9K5fmu3bSs — Eliano A Younes (@eliano) April 21, 2026 X users responded to Younes with the kind of comments that anyone might expect about Palantir, a company aligned with President Donald Trump and the most dystopian elements of our modern surveillance society.
“could it be operated remotely ? detonated? listening ? what’s the features list,” one user joked, while another asked if it had “built in surveillance trackers?” But Younes seemed genuinely offended by the most obvious jokes any reasonable person might be expected to make of Palantir, a defense contractor that prides itself in helping surveil and kill people around the world. He responded with “here for the shitposting but I need to see better from you. this is unoriginal and not funny,” and “not even remotely funny. try harder.”
Even Palantir employees seem to be waking up to what the company stands for, according to a recent report from Wired. When the U.S. launched a missile attack against an elementary school in Iran on Feb. 28 that killed about 175 people, mostly children, the employees reportedly started to question whether Palantir’s Maven technology had been used. Employees are also worried about the company’s lucrative contracts with ICE, an organization that has been terrorizing American streets in particularly heinous ways.
But Palantir seems intent on pushing out gear that allows like-minded people to wrap themselves in a horrifying, anti-American brand. “We want millions of people wearing Palantir merch around the world,” recently Younes told GQ. Younes says he wants Palantir to be a lifestyle brand, telling GQ, “There are people out there wearing Palantir merchandise to signal their alignment with our mission, and that’s exactly what a lifestyle brand is.” That lifestyle, of course, isn’t something that decent people would be proud of. Palantir recently promoted a Reader’s Digest-style version of the book The Technological Republic, co-authored by CEO Alex Karp, in a tweet. The book advocates for reinstatement of the draft, says the “postwar neutering” of Germany and Japan following the atrocities of World War II was an overcorrection, and criticizes the concept of pluralism.
It’s not just the chore coat. The company also sell sweatshirts, t-shirts, and hats, among other items. One t-shirt Palantir sold in 2025 featured an image of Karp along with the word “Dominate.” That item is no longer available for purchase. Younes also suggested to GQ that its CEO was important for Palantir as a fashion brand: “A lot of the store’s designs are downstream of Dr. Karp and our chief technology officer Shyam Sankar’s personal style.” Younes wouldn’t say how many units the company is selling, but did claim, “store sales have increased 64% year-over-year and everything we’ve made has sold out, sometimes in minutes.”
GQ asked about Palantir’s ICE contracts and the other “controversial” things it’s engaged in with the U.S. military, but Younes insisted the company is “not political,” whatever that’s supposed to mean. As the Wall Street Journal recently pointed out, Palantir is leaning hard into selling the “tech-boss-as-hero ethos,” that’s frankly pretty common in Silicon Valley these days. But even some fans of the company think the merchandising effort is embarrassing.
“Unpopular opinion: all these merch posts are so ‘fan boy’ and extra cringe,” one user wrote in the Palantir subreddit about Karp’s Dominate shirt. “Like the stock or don’t, believe in the company or don’t,…. But the incessant merch posts are weak sauce.” Others are fully bought in, with one user writing, “Definitely a collectors item for me, could be worth something one day.” Younes told GQ that Palantir is working on a tennis collection and something for the America 250 celebrations this summer. So if you’re a fan of techno-fascism, keep your eyes peeled. Whatever merch they’ve got planned for the rest of the year could be sold out in no time. #Palantir #Debuts #Chic #Chore #Coat #World #Youre #BaddiesPalantir](https://i1.wp.com/gizmodo.com/app/uploads/2026/04/palatnir-chore-coats-1280x853.jpg?ssl=1 "Palantir Debuts Chic Chore Coat So the World Knows You’re One of the Baddies
This week, Palantir announced the upcoming release of a new chore coat branded with the company’s logo. The company has been releasing gear since 2024, and this new coat is a great way to tell everyone what you stand for. Specifically, it communicates to everyone in your immediate vicinity that you support ICE and aren’t a big fan of civil liberties. Palantir’s head of strategic engagement Eliano A. Younes tweeted the chore coat this week, which he says will be released on April 30. the lightweight Palantir chore coat [04.30.2026 • 0930 AM EST] pic.twitter.com/9K5fmu3bSs — Eliano A Younes (@eliano) April 21, 2026 X users responded to Younes with the kind of comments that anyone might expect about Palantir, a company aligned with President Donald Trump and the most dystopian elements of our modern surveillance society.
“could it be operated remotely ? detonated? listening ? what’s the features list,” one user joked, while another asked if it had “built in surveillance trackers?” But Younes seemed genuinely offended by the most obvious jokes any reasonable person might be expected to make of Palantir, a defense contractor that prides itself in helping surveil and kill people around the world. He responded with “here for the shitposting but I need to see better from you. this is unoriginal and not funny,” and “not even remotely funny. try harder.”
Even Palantir employees seem to be waking up to what the company stands for, according to a recent report from Wired. When the U.S. launched a missile attack against an elementary school in Iran on Feb. 28 that killed about 175 people, mostly children, the employees reportedly started to question whether Palantir’s Maven technology had been used. Employees are also worried about the company’s lucrative contracts with ICE, an organization that has been terrorizing American streets in particularly heinous ways.
But Palantir seems intent on pushing out gear that allows like-minded people to wrap themselves in a horrifying, anti-American brand. “We want millions of people wearing Palantir merch around the world,” recently Younes told GQ. Younes says he wants Palantir to be a lifestyle brand, telling GQ, “There are people out there wearing Palantir merchandise to signal their alignment with our mission, and that’s exactly what a lifestyle brand is.” That lifestyle, of course, isn’t something that decent people would be proud of. Palantir recently promoted a Reader’s Digest-style version of the book The Technological Republic, co-authored by CEO Alex Karp, in a tweet. The book advocates for reinstatement of the draft, says the “postwar neutering” of Germany and Japan following the atrocities of World War II was an overcorrection, and criticizes the concept of pluralism.
It’s not just the chore coat. The company also sell sweatshirts, t-shirts, and hats, among other items. One t-shirt Palantir sold in 2025 featured an image of Karp along with the word “Dominate.” That item is no longer available for purchase. Younes also suggested to GQ that its CEO was important for Palantir as a fashion brand: “A lot of the store’s designs are downstream of Dr. Karp and our chief technology officer Shyam Sankar’s personal style.” Younes wouldn’t say how many units the company is selling, but did claim, “store sales have increased 64% year-over-year and everything we’ve made has sold out, sometimes in minutes.”
GQ asked about Palantir’s ICE contracts and the other “controversial” things it’s engaged in with the U.S. military, but Younes insisted the company is “not political,” whatever that’s supposed to mean. As the Wall Street Journal recently pointed out, Palantir is leaning hard into selling the “tech-boss-as-hero ethos,” that’s frankly pretty common in Silicon Valley these days. But even some fans of the company think the merchandising effort is embarrassing.
“Unpopular opinion: all these merch posts are so ‘fan boy’ and extra cringe,” one user wrote in the Palantir subreddit about Karp’s Dominate shirt. “Like the stock or don’t, believe in the company or don’t,…. But the incessant merch posts are weak sauce.” Others are fully bought in, with one user writing, “Definitely a collectors item for me, could be worth something one day.” Younes told GQ that Palantir is working on a tennis collection and something for the America 250 celebrations this summer. So if you’re a fan of techno-fascism, keep your eyes peeled. Whatever merch they’ve got planned for the rest of the year could be sold out in no time. #Palantir #Debuts #Chic #Chore #Coat #World #Youre #BaddiesPalantir")
![Palantir Debuts Chic Chore Coat So the World Knows You’re One of the Baddies
This week, Palantir announced the upcoming release of a new chore coat branded with the company’s logo. The company has been releasing gear since 2024, and this new coat is a great way to tell everyone what you stand for. Specifically, it communicates to everyone in your immediate vicinity that you support ICE and aren’t a big fan of civil liberties. Palantir’s head of strategic engagement Eliano A. Younes tweeted the chore coat this week, which he says will be released on April 30. the lightweight Palantir chore coat [04.30.2026 • 0930 AM EST] pic.twitter.com/9K5fmu3bSs — Eliano A Younes (@eliano) April 21, 2026 X users responded to Younes with the kind of comments that anyone might expect about Palantir, a company aligned with President Donald Trump and the most dystopian elements of our modern surveillance society.
“could it be operated remotely ? detonated? listening ? what’s the features list,” one user joked, while another asked if it had “built in surveillance trackers?” But Younes seemed genuinely offended by the most obvious jokes any reasonable person might be expected to make of Palantir, a defense contractor that prides itself in helping surveil and kill people around the world. He responded with “here for the shitposting but I need to see better from you. this is unoriginal and not funny,” and “not even remotely funny. try harder.”
Even Palantir employees seem to be waking up to what the company stands for, according to a recent report from Wired. When the U.S. launched a missile attack against an elementary school in Iran on Feb. 28 that killed about 175 people, mostly children, the employees reportedly started to question whether Palantir’s Maven technology had been used. Employees are also worried about the company’s lucrative contracts with ICE, an organization that has been terrorizing American streets in particularly heinous ways.
But Palantir seems intent on pushing out gear that allows like-minded people to wrap themselves in a horrifying, anti-American brand. “We want millions of people wearing Palantir merch around the world,” recently Younes told GQ. Younes says he wants Palantir to be a lifestyle brand, telling GQ, “There are people out there wearing Palantir merchandise to signal their alignment with our mission, and that’s exactly what a lifestyle brand is.” That lifestyle, of course, isn’t something that decent people would be proud of. Palantir recently promoted a Reader’s Digest-style version of the book The Technological Republic, co-authored by CEO Alex Karp, in a tweet. The book advocates for reinstatement of the draft, says the “postwar neutering” of Germany and Japan following the atrocities of World War II was an overcorrection, and criticizes the concept of pluralism.
It’s not just the chore coat. The company also sell sweatshirts, t-shirts, and hats, among other items. One t-shirt Palantir sold in 2025 featured an image of Karp along with the word “Dominate.” That item is no longer available for purchase. Younes also suggested to GQ that its CEO was important for Palantir as a fashion brand: “A lot of the store’s designs are downstream of Dr. Karp and our chief technology officer Shyam Sankar’s personal style.” Younes wouldn’t say how many units the company is selling, but did claim, “store sales have increased 64% year-over-year and everything we’ve made has sold out, sometimes in minutes.”
GQ asked about Palantir’s ICE contracts and the other “controversial” things it’s engaged in with the U.S. military, but Younes insisted the company is “not political,” whatever that’s supposed to mean. As the Wall Street Journal recently pointed out, Palantir is leaning hard into selling the “tech-boss-as-hero ethos,” that’s frankly pretty common in Silicon Valley these days. But even some fans of the company think the merchandising effort is embarrassing.
“Unpopular opinion: all these merch posts are so ‘fan boy’ and extra cringe,” one user wrote in the Palantir subreddit about Karp’s Dominate shirt. “Like the stock or don’t, believe in the company or don’t,…. But the incessant merch posts are weak sauce.” Others are fully bought in, with one user writing, “Definitely a collectors item for me, could be worth something one day.” Younes told GQ that Palantir is working on a tennis collection and something for the America 250 celebrations this summer. So if you’re a fan of techno-fascism, keep your eyes peeled. Whatever merch they’ve got planned for the rest of the year could be sold out in no time. #Palantir #Debuts #Chic #Chore #Coat #World #Youre #BaddiesPalantir](https://gizmodo.com/app/uploads/2026/04/palatnir-chore-coats-1280x853.jpg "Palantir Debuts Chic Chore Coat So the World Knows You’re One of the Baddies
This week, Palantir announced the upcoming release of a new chore coat branded with the company’s logo. The company has been releasing gear since 2024, and this new coat is a great way to tell everyone what you stand for. Specifically, it communicates to everyone in your immediate vicinity that you support ICE and aren’t a big fan of civil liberties. Palantir’s head of strategic engagement Eliano A. Younes tweeted the chore coat this week, which he says will be released on April 30. the lightweight Palantir chore coat [04.30.2026 • 0930 AM EST] pic.twitter.com/9K5fmu3bSs — Eliano A Younes (@eliano) April 21, 2026 X users responded to Younes with the kind of comments that anyone might expect about Palantir, a company aligned with President Donald Trump and the most dystopian elements of our modern surveillance society.
“could it be operated remotely ? detonated? listening ? what’s the features list,” one user joked, while another asked if it had “built in surveillance trackers?” But Younes seemed genuinely offended by the most obvious jokes any reasonable person might be expected to make of Palantir, a defense contractor that prides itself in helping surveil and kill people around the world. He responded with “here for the shitposting but I need to see better from you. this is unoriginal and not funny,” and “not even remotely funny. try harder.”
Even Palantir employees seem to be waking up to what the company stands for, according to a recent report from Wired. When the U.S. launched a missile attack against an elementary school in Iran on Feb. 28 that killed about 175 people, mostly children, the employees reportedly started to question whether Palantir’s Maven technology had been used. Employees are also worried about the company’s lucrative contracts with ICE, an organization that has been terrorizing American streets in particularly heinous ways.
But Palantir seems intent on pushing out gear that allows like-minded people to wrap themselves in a horrifying, anti-American brand. “We want millions of people wearing Palantir merch around the world,” recently Younes told GQ. Younes says he wants Palantir to be a lifestyle brand, telling GQ, “There are people out there wearing Palantir merchandise to signal their alignment with our mission, and that’s exactly what a lifestyle brand is.” That lifestyle, of course, isn’t something that decent people would be proud of. Palantir recently promoted a Reader’s Digest-style version of the book The Technological Republic, co-authored by CEO Alex Karp, in a tweet. The book advocates for reinstatement of the draft, says the “postwar neutering” of Germany and Japan following the atrocities of World War II was an overcorrection, and criticizes the concept of pluralism.
It’s not just the chore coat. The company also sell sweatshirts, t-shirts, and hats, among other items. One t-shirt Palantir sold in 2025 featured an image of Karp along with the word “Dominate.” That item is no longer available for purchase. Younes also suggested to GQ that its CEO was important for Palantir as a fashion brand: “A lot of the store’s designs are downstream of Dr. Karp and our chief technology officer Shyam Sankar’s personal style.” Younes wouldn’t say how many units the company is selling, but did claim, “store sales have increased 64% year-over-year and everything we’ve made has sold out, sometimes in minutes.”
GQ asked about Palantir’s ICE contracts and the other “controversial” things it’s engaged in with the U.S. military, but Younes insisted the company is “not political,” whatever that’s supposed to mean. As the Wall Street Journal recently pointed out, Palantir is leaning hard into selling the “tech-boss-as-hero ethos,” that’s frankly pretty common in Silicon Valley these days. But even some fans of the company think the merchandising effort is embarrassing.
“Unpopular opinion: all these merch posts are so ‘fan boy’ and extra cringe,” one user wrote in the Palantir subreddit about Karp’s Dominate shirt. “Like the stock or don’t, believe in the company or don’t,…. But the incessant merch posts are weak sauce.” Others are fully bought in, with one user writing, “Definitely a collectors item for me, could be worth something one day.” Younes told GQ that Palantir is working on a tennis collection and something for the America 250 celebrations this summer. So if you’re a fan of techno-fascism, keep your eyes peeled. Whatever merch they’ve got planned for the rest of the year could be sold out in no time. #Palantir #Debuts #Chic #Chore #Coat #World #Youre #BaddiesPalantir")
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