Posers as Elon Musk’s X unveils controversial plan to remove blocking feature

Tech billionaire and owner of Twitter (now X), Elon Musk has announced that the blocking feature on the microblogging app will be removed, citing that the feature “makes no sense.”

Musk disclosed this recently in a tweet, responding to a public enquiry about the difference between “Mute and Block”.

It makes no sense

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 18, 2023

While users, according to Musk, will still have the ability to prevent people from directly messaging them, this decision has sparked concern among social media users who rely on the blocking feature to remove abusive content from their timelines.

The change, when implemented, will come as part of a series of adjustments Musk has introduced since his acquisition of the platform in a $44 billion deal last year.

The current blocking feature prevents posts from a blocked account from appearing on the blocker’s timeline, and vice versa.

For anyone familiar with Twitter, the blocked account loses the ability to send messages to the blocker or view their posts.

Since the statement hit the mainstream, it has drawn both support and criticism.

READ ALSO:Elon Musk launches ad-sharing model on platform

Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, seemed to back the decision, indicating his agreement with “Mute only.”

However, critics argue that muting an account doesn’t provide sufficient protection against harassment, abuse, or stalking, as muted accounts can still view and reply to posts.

One user labeled Musk’s decision as a “huge mistake,” stating that toxic individuals on the platform require complete disconnection.

On the policy side of things, Ripples Nigeria understands that removing the blocking feature also raises concerns about potential violations of Apple’s App Store and Google Play terms and conditions, which require social media apps to offer facilities for filtering out harassment and bullying.

If X proceeds with this policy change, however, it remains unclear whether blocked accounts will automatically become unblocked.

Elon Musk’s management of the social media site has been marked by significant changes, such as dismissing the company’s top executives and introducing charges for the “blue tick” verification feature.

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