In another possibly shortsighted decision, Elon Musk says Twitter will soon remove the ability to block people – with the exception of direct messages. In a post on Twitter today, Musk said that the block feature “makes no sense” and instead recommended people use the mute option.
Apple’s App Store Guidelines, however, could prevent this from actually happening…
Musk’s comment came in response to a question about whether or not there’s “ever a reason to block” someone rather than mute them. “Block is going to be removed as a ‘feature,’ except for DMs,” he said. “It makes no sense.”
In typical Musk fashion, the move was announced without any specific details. He didn’t elaborate any further on this decision, and there’s no timeline on when exactly Twitter will implement the change. It’s also possible Musk never speaks of this idea again and the change is never implemented.
The decision to remove the ability for users to block one another is already facing pushback from Twitter users. The blocking functionality has been viewed as an essential way to cut down on the amount of abuse on Twitter. In comparison to muting someone, blocking someone prevents that person from viewing anything on your profile, and therefore stops them from engaging (or harassing) you.
In the past, Musk has been a huge fan of the block button on Twitter and blocked a wide array of accounts. In February, however, Musk said he “unblocked everyone” he had previously blocked and recommended that others do the same. “Negative feedback is a good thing,” he wrote.
A few months later, Musk blocked the 9to5Mac account on Twitter. He’s also blocked and unblocked our friends over at Electrek multiple times. He eventually unblocked the 9to5Mac account as well.
App Store guidelines have entered the chat…
Top comment by Blorft
“Negative feedback is a good thing"
This is RICH coming from the man who fired employees for very mildly disagreeing with him, or for stating facts that he didn't like.
What a hypocrite. I can't wait for the world to move on from him.
According to Apple’s App Store guidelines, however, Twitter might get removed from the App Store if it removes the ability for users to block people. The App Store rules say that apps with “user-generated content” must offer:
- A method for filtering objectionable material from being posted to the app
- A mechanism to report offensive content and timely responses to concerns
- The ability to block abusive users from the service
- Published contact information so users can easily reach you
My guess is that Musk isn’t familiar with that rule, but he very well might mess around and find out about it the hard way
What do you think of Twitter’s decision to get rid of the block feature? Will it lead to an increase in the amount of abuse and harassment on the platform?
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