Elon Musk says X will strip ability to block accounts

Elon Musk, the owner of social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, announced on Friday that the company will remove a protection feature that allows users to block other accounts, in yet another controversial move for the company he purchased last year.

The block function on X allows a user to prevent specific accounts from contacting, seeing, or following them.

"Block will be removed as a 'feature,' except for DMs," Musk stated in a platform post, referring to direct messaging.

He stated that X would keep the mute function, which prevents a user from seeing specific accounts but, unlike blocking, does not notify the other account.

The billionaire owner has described himself as a staunch supporter of free speech, but some critics have called his stance irresponsible. Since he assumed over, researchers have discovered an upsurge in hate speech and antisemitic content on the site, and several governments have criticised the firm of not doing enough to monitor its content.

According to Apple, apps featuring user-generated content must be able to prohibit abusive users. According to Google Play, apps must include an in-app solution for restricting user-generated content and user.

Responding to an appeal from anti-bullying activist Monica Lewinsky to maintain the "critical tool to keep people safe online," X CEO Linda Yaccarino backed Musk's decision.

"The safety of our users on X is our top priority." And we're working on something better than block and mute right now. Please keep the comments coming," Yaccarino wrote.

Musk will head the product and engineering teams, while Yaccarino will lead all other teams, including legal and sales, according to the firm.