Bluesky Blocks Links to Leaked Archive of 41,000 DHS Employee Records
Bluesky says it blocked links to the Icepick archive because it exposes personal contact information without authorization, including names, emails, and phone numbers. The records cover more than 41,000 DHS employees and contractors.
Bluesky began blocking links in October 2026 to a leaked archive containing records on more than 41,000 Department of Homeland Security employees and contractors, labeling the pages “malicious” for users who attempt to open them through the platform’s website or app.
The archive, dubbed “Icepick,” was published by transparency nonprofit Distributed Denial of Secrets and journalist maia arson crimew, who also built a searchable website for the records. Bluesky blocks both the archive and that search tool. The files include names, email addresses, phone numbers, and membership in internal DHS groups — in some cases linked to surveillance and undercover operations. A WIRED investigation found the files detail how DHS is organized, from senior leadership to individual immigration agents, and in some cases indicate who has access to certain technologies.
Bluesky told WIRED it blocked the links because the files contain personal contact information “shared without their authorization,” in violation of its community guidelines, which bar sharing personal contact information such as home addresses, phone numbers, and financial or medical data. The company said it chose to block links rather than remove individual posts “to avoid limiting public discussion or restricting broader access to reporting and commentary.” Bluesky did not respond to questions about whether the block was imposed automatically or whether any government agency requested the restriction.
Emma Best, co-founder of DDoSecrets, said this is not the first time a platform has restricted access to the organization’s publications. Twitter blocked links to DDoSecrets’ site in 2020 after the group published BlueLeaks, a 269-gigabyte collection of police agency records. Best said tech platforms often yield to government pressure but argued the information cannot be contained: “They can’t stop the signal.”
At least one third-party Bluesky app, Klearsky, opens links to the archive without any warning. On rival platform X, the Grok chatbot directed users to the Icepick search tool and noted the full dataset is available via DDoSecrets or torrent download.