Elon Musk to remove X's 'block' feature as it 'makes no sense'

Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly known as Twitter), has announced that the platform will remove the blocking feature for its users, stating that it "makes no sense." However, users can still block others from messaging them directly.

This move by Musk is just one of many changes he has implemented since he acquired the site in a $44 billion deal last year. Currently, when a user blocks an account, they prevent posts from that account from appearing on the blocker's timeline and vice versa. Additionally, the blocked account cannot message the blocker and view their posts.

Interestingly, Jack Dorsey, the former founder of Twitter, seemed to agree with Musk's choice, tweeting, "100%. mute only." However, some people have raised concerns that muting an account may not provide enough protection against harassment, abuse, or stalking. It only silences notifications about an account's posts, but the muted account can still view and reply to the muter's posts.

One user described Musk's decision as a "huge mistake," citing the presence of "toxic people" on the platform that users simply don't want to interact with in any way. Additionally, removing the blocking feature could violate the terms and conditions of app stores like Apple's App Store and Google Play, which require social media apps to incorporate measures to filter out harassment or bullying. In such a scenario, X may no longer be available for download from these platforms.

Elon Musk, the world's richest man, has initiated a series of changes since he took over the social networking site. This includes firing the company's top executive team and introducing a charge for the "blue tick" or verification feature.