Major turn for X's block feature
Elon Musk's platform, now called X and formerly Twitter, is making a drastic alteration in the blocking feature. And the response from the users was seriously savage. Under the new update, it seems to move from the direction of almost vanishing the user's capability to view their own tweets even if someone has blocked the user, and thus seems to compromise privacy and safety.
What's Changing?
According to X's engineering page, this new change does have an impact on public accounts. A blocked user can still view the blocker's updates but cannot interact with him or her. That is different from the status quo, where blocking prevents both viewing and interaction.
X says this new practice promotes "greater transparency." Users can follow if someone who has blocked them is posting harmful or private content online.
Users' Response to Change
This latest update has earned the site a lot of criticisms. Various critics have taken to the various social media platforms to air their dissatisfaction with the latest development. Many are not feeling that the update makes the block feature "essentially useless," as stalkers or harassers can continue to keep an eye on blocked accounts. Another reason for attacking the idea is that despite not being able to interact directly with tweets, the blocked users may screenshot and share them publicly.
Elon Musk's Plan for X
Earlier this month, Elon Musk also expressed his view on the block feature, saying it was "high time" it was brought in. The block feature in use presently "makes no sense," said the head of the social media site, and has to be taken over by a stronger mute system. However, his words only fanned greater anxiety among users, who think that inability to shut down the harassment may put some people at greater risk.
Other Sites Capitalize
Bluesky, a decentralized social service that hopes to compete with X, has already seen the benefit of backlash over changes implemented by Musk. Since X boasts millions more users than does Bluesky, it touts its strong block and "anti-toxicity" tools.
Block vs. Mute on X
Critical differences exist between block and mute on X.
Blocking and muting serve different purposes; both limit interactions but block totally cuts off the engagement from the user's side, thus blocking followers, likes, or replies. Muting only removes another user's posts from your feed without their knowledge but will not cut off any further ability to send direct messages or interact in other posts.
About Musk's Changes
Since Elon Musk acquired X for $44 billion, his revamps have become pretty radical; he has changed everything from the name to subscription models, and reduced content moderation. This block feature renovation is part of that much larger strategy, but questions such compliance are raised with app store policies that require a need for blocking features on platforms for user safety.
These changes suggest that for Musk, the whole idea of X is how much fewer restrictions it is compared to what has traditionally been applied in social media.