Elon Musk announced that X (formerly Twitter), will eliminate user blocking feature since it adds no value. This functionality enables uses to block posts from specific accounts from appearing in their feeds. In his post, Musk stated that the “Block” feature will no longer exist as a selectable option, except for its retention within the realm of Direct Messages (DMs). This implies that users will still have the ability to employ this option for private conversations between individuals on the platform, which was previously known as Twitter. The “Block” feature was utilized to curtail interaction with particular accounts on the platform.
Musk has frequently invoked a commitment to unrestricted speech as the impetus behind his alterations and has criticized the perceived encroachment on free expression due to evolving cultural sensitivities. Following his acquisition of the then Twitter for $44 billion in October of the prior year, the platform’s advertising business underwent a decline, partly attributed to its more permissive approach toward mitigating hate speech and the resurgence of far-right accounts that had been previously banned.
As reported by the nonprofit organization, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), instances of hate speech have proliferated on the platform. X has contested these conclusions and has initiated legal action against the CCDH.
In a sudden development, Musk reinstated the Twitter account of former US president Donald Trump, though Trump has yet to make a return to the platform. The former president had been banned from Twitter in early 2021 for his alleged role in the January 6 assault on the US Capitol by a faction of his supporters seeking to overturn the outcomes of the 2020 election.
X recently restored the account of rapper and designer Kanye West, roughly eight months subsequent to its suspension, as per media accounts. Last autumn, West, now professionally addressed as Ye, shared an image that appeared to juxtapose a swastika with a Star of David, prompting Musk to suspend the artist from the platform.