Elon Musk, the owner of social media company X, formerly known as Twitter, said on Friday that the company will remove a protection feature that allows users to block other accounts, another addition to the company he bought last year. A controversial move.
The blocking feature on X allows users to restrict specific accounts from contacting them, seeing their posts, or following them.
“Blocking will be removed as a ‘feature,’ except for direct messages,” Musk said in a post on the platform referring to direct messages.
Blocking will be removed as a “feature” other than DM
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 18, 2023
X will retain the mute feature, which prevents users from seeing specified accounts, but unlike blocking, it won’t alert other accounts to the action, he said.
The billionaire boss has described himself as a free-speech absolutist, but some critics say his approach is irresponsible. Researchers have found that hate speech and anti-Semitic content have increased on the platform since he took over, with some governments accusing the company of not doing enough to rein in its content.
Removing or limiting blocking features could put X in conflict with guidelines incorporated by Apple’s App Store and Alphabet’s Google Play.
Apps that contain user-generated content must be able to deter abusive users, Apple said. Apps must provide an in-app system to block user-generated content and users, the Google Play Store says.
X, Google and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In response to a post by anti-bullying activist Monica Lewinsky urging X to preserve “a critical tool for keeping people safe online,” CEO Linda Yaccarino defended the horses. Sker defended the move.
“The safety of our users on X is our top priority. We are building something better than the current state of blocking and muting. Please feel free to provide feedback,” Yaccarino posted.
Musk will lead the product and engineering teams, while Jacarino will lead all other teams, including legal and sales, the company said.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
(This story was not edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from syndicated feeds.)
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