Decentralized Platforms at Risk
Decentralized platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Pixelfed are especially vulnerable to the 48-hour takedown rule, since many are run by nonprofit or individual operators.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can now treat noncompliance as an “unfair or deceptive act,” potentially subjecting even small hosts to penalties.
Mastodon said it will likely lean toward taking down content if it’s too difficult to verify the legitimacy of a claim.
The AI Factor: Content Moderation Before Upload
Companies are turning to AI to manage compliance. Hive, a startup that builds content moderation APIs, is already working with platforms like Reddit, Giphy, and Bluesky to detect explicit imagery and deepfakes.
“We were actually one of the tech companies that endorsed that bill,” said Kevin Guo, Hive’s CEO. “It’ll help solve some pretty important problems and compel these platforms to adopt solutions more proactively.”
Hive, now valued at $2 billion, provides tools that platforms often implement at the point of upload, meaning content is scanned before it’s even published.
