Elon Musk posts that the capability to block users on X, formerly Twitter, will no longer be available.

Elon Musk, the CEO of the then, “Twitter” now, “X” has posted on X that blocking users will no longer be a feature. “Is there ever a reason to block v mute someone” is his reason behind this decision. To clarify, to mute someone on X means that if you post something and a comment appears that you disagree with, the comment is shielded from your eyes, but others can see that comment. If you were to block someone, then they and their comments will be hidden from your view as well as another’s view on the platform. Musk’s decision has gained a lot of traction and criticism.  Changpeng Zhao, Binance CEO and investor in the new Twitter alongside Musk, believes that the energy and brain space should be used elsewhere. 

“X should really solve the bots & spam problems before removing blocks,” wrote Zhao, whose company owns one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges. “Just my 0.02.” I mean, he is a software developer so he would know the priorities right?

Only time will tell how this decision will play out. Many audiences do not want to see, interact or validate any negative comments or participants on their social media. Taking the power away from such audiences deters them from interacting on your platform. This is very risky for X, but perhaps it may play out to their benefit.