Elon Musk’s plan to remove Twitter’s blocking function will leave users even more vulnerable to harassment and threats on the platform, according to Jess Kelly.
Last week, the CEO of the platform, recently rebranded as ‘X’, said he aims to remove the ability to block other users, except when it comes to DMs (Direct Messages).
The Twitter chief said the block feature ‘makes no sense’ and said users would still be able to mute posts they do not wish to see.
On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Newstalk Tech Correspondent Jess Kelly explained why the proposed change matters.
“If you’re not on Twitter, you may think, ‘oh who cares’ or if you are on Twitter, you may just think I am snowflake for caring about this, but I absolutely care about this,” she said.
“I have been on Twitter for years - I use it as a tool for my job - and over the years, I have been threatened, I have been insulted, I have been trolled; I have had content that I put out on social media used against me in different online forums and the only layer of protection I had was to block these people.
“Muting it doesn’t stop it from existing, blocking unfortunately doesn’t stop it from existing but it means they can’t tag you. It means they can’t see what you’re posting.
This is pretty sensational. pic.twitter.com/tL5qQW76gd
— Jess Kelly 👩🏻💻 (@jesskellynt) August 21, 2023
“I actually think that if this does come to fruition, not only will it be damaging for users, it is also going to impact their level of protection – the very, very weak now level of protection they are offering users.
“Don’t forget that Elon Musk has let go of a significant number of the Twitter staff in terms of moderation and assessing complaints and all the rest – the block button is kind of the only thing we have left.”
'The block button is the only thing we have left'. @jesskellynt on Elon Musk's plan to delete the block function from his social media platform. pic.twitter.com/9zxqH4Tw6U
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) August 21, 2023
Elon Musk. Image: AC NewsPhoto/AlamyJess said Musk may also find himself in hot water with the Apple and Android app stores – where most users download the ‘X’ app.
“If he does get rid of the block function because he thinks it makes no sense, he could actually get the app deleted from the iOS and Google Play Stores because under the terms of use of both of those stores, they have to have a method to facilitate users to filter harassment and bullying,” she said.
“So if this does come to pass, you could lose the app from both of those ecosystems.”
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