Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly known as Twitter), has announced that the platform will remove the blocking feature for its users, saying it “doesn’t make sense.” However, users will still have the ability to block others from sending direct messages.
Musk’s move is just one of many changes since the site was acquired in a $44 billion deal last year. Currently, when a user blocks an account, it prevents that account’s posts from appearing in the blocker’s timeline, and vice versa. In addition, a blocked account loses the ability to send messages to the blocker and view their posts.
Interestingly, former Twitter founder Jack Dorsey seems to agree with Musk’s choice, tweeting “100%. Just silent.” However, some individuals have expressed concern that silencing an account may not provide adequate protection against harassment, abuse, or harassment. The mute function currently only mutes notifications about an account’s posts, but the muted account can still view and reply to Muter’s posts.
One user described Musk’s decision as a “huge mistake” by referring to the presence of “toxic people” on the platform whose users don’t want to interact with any power. Additionally, removing the blocking feature may violate app store terms and conditions, such as Apple’s App Store and Google Play, which require social media apps to include measures to filter harassment or bullying. In such situations, X may no longer be available for download from these platforms.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has initiated several changes since taking over the social media site. These include firing the company’s top executive team and introducing a charge for the site’s “blue tick” – or verification – feature.
