Twitter / X is preparing yet another contentious change, this time to its "block" feature, a longtime annoyance of the platform's owner Elon Musk.
According to a report from Twitter user @Nima_Owji, the site's "block" feature will be tweaked such that "if an account is public, their posts will be visible to the blocked users as well."
The report was apparently confirmed by a reply from Musk himself, who clarified that the new "block function will block that account from engaging with, but not block seeing, public post."
In 2023, Musk voiced that he wanted to completely remove the block feature except for DMs, which critics noted would have gotten the site removed from the Apple App store, as the platform requires social media apps to have a "block" function.
This new iteration of a "block" feature, though not yet implemented, has proven controversial on the site and led to speculation about its overall purpose.
Some have speculated that the real purpose of the change is to prevent people from blocking advertisements on the platform. Others have suggested it's Musk using his power to make sure people see his posts, which he has done before.
Whatever the case, many Twitter users have argued that the side effects of the change could lead to increased harassment and an overall negative experience for users who block because they don't want to see posts from the accounts they have blocked.
It is unclear when the change will be implemented. At the time of writing, it is still possible to block a user, and when visiting their profile, their tweets are hidden.
Furthermore, if the change is implemented, eyes will shift to app stores to see if this new iteration of the "block" function adheres to their guidelines.
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