Elon Musk has announced that the blocking feature on Twitter (now X) will be removed because “it does not make sense.”
He said users will still be able to block people from directly messaging them.
This is one of Musk’s latest changes to the platform after purchasing it for $44bn last year.
Changes
Block is going to be deleted as a “feature”, except for DMs
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 18, 2023
Recently he changed the famous name and blue bird logo to X.
Pretty fun blocking people who complain that blocking is going away.
How does the medicine taste? ����
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 20, 2023
Currently when users choose to block someone, it stops the appearance of that account’s posts in the blocker’s timeline and vice versa. Additionally, a blocked account loses the ability to send messages to the blocker and view their posts. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey says he agrees with Musk’s plans and that the mute option is sufficient.
��. mute only.
— jack (@jack) August 18, 2023
Complaints
However many Twitter users have complained that this will lead to stalking and harassment:
Failing to address the antisemitic and Holocaust denial comments that appear under our posts commemorating the victims of Auschwitz would be a disservice to their memory.
We’ve chosen to block users who promote denial and hatred. This decision stems from our deep dedication to… https://t.co/4tPkjUe9sv pic.twitter.com/iGA9VhAwWd
— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) August 18, 2023
He put limits on how many tweets you can view, made your profiles no longer public, paywalled unlimited messaging on a social media app, renamed the entire app to a letter, and now we’re not going to be able to block abusers and stalkers. https://t.co/WcpWQJr4yF
— ����️����աrecκ ☭ (@joeywreck) August 18, 2023
This will legitimately endanger women https://t.co/IyPnKibGLB
— RFH���������� ⬛️ (THERE ARE NO TOPS) (@hollowearthterf) August 18, 2023
According to the BBC removing the blocking feature may violate the terms and conditions of app stores. Both Apple App Store and Google Play have rules that social media apps must allow for users to filter out harassment and bullying.