Elon Musk, owner of the social media platform now known as X, announced on Friday that the option to block other accounts will be removed. This change is part of Musk’s ongoing efforts to revamp the platform, which he acquired for $44 billion last year.
While users will no longer be able to block accounts, they can still block them from sending direct messages. Musk described the removal of blocking as a shift in the platform’s features.
Blocking has traditionally been a tool for users to safeguard themselves from unwanted interactions on X. It prevents blocked accounts from viewing your posts and vice versa, as well as prohibits direct messaging.
However, users will still have the option to mute accounts, which hides their posts from their feed. Muted accounts can still interact with the user’s posts and send direct messages.
Under Musk’s ownership, several safety policies on Twitter have been reversed, including the termination of content moderators and the reinstatement of previously banned users. Consequently, advertisers have departed from the platform, resulting in a significant decline in ad revenue.
In response to criticism regarding the impact of these changes on platform safety, X’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino, has stated that “more than 99% of content users and advertisers see on Twitter is healthy.” However, the criteria for defining “healthy” content and the methodology for calculating this percentage have not been disclosed by the company.