On Friday Elon Musk announced that the microblogging site ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter, would no longer have its own block feature as it did not make sense. In response to a tweet from Tesla owners in Silicon Valley, Elon Musk said that the block would be removed as a feature, except for direct messages.
The Block feature prevents users from communicating with specific accounts on the microblogs platform. Elon Musk posted, “Block is going to be deleted as a ‘feature’, except for DMs,”, indicating the possibility for “direct messages” between users of a Social Media Platform, which was once called Twitter, will still be available.
However, Elon Musk had to face backlash from Twitter users on his decision of removing the ‘block’ feature.
People stated the fact that Twitter users would be at risk of online harassment and cyberbullying if the Block feature is removed.
An user tweeted, “This is a huge mistake. Block is a critical feature on this app. Regretted minutes would skyrocket. There are certain evil people that users just don’t want following them or replying to them. Scammers, cyber stalkers, etc. I suspect many people would abandon X if they can’t block the harassing accounts out of their lives.”
Another user also mentioned that if the block feature is removed, they would have to delete their account.
In addition, one Twitter user pointed out that the removal of the blocking feature was in direct violation of the App Store Guidelines, and predicted that Elon Musk would soon reverse himself and say that he was joking.
The company’s advertising revenues have fallen, partly as a result of their looser approach on blocking hate speech and returning banned right wing accounts, since Tesla founder Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion last October.
According to the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a non profit organisation, hate speech has flourished on the platform and ‘X’ has disputed the findings and is suing the CCDH.
In December, Elon Musk had reinstated a Twitter account of former US president Donald Trump although he hasn’t yet returned to the platform. He was banned from Twitter in early 2021 for his role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by a group of his supporters seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
According to reports, about eight months after rapper and designer Kanye West’s account was suspended by Elon Musk’s X, it was recently reinstated.
