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Posters on X – the site formerly known as Twitter – may face more spam, more harassment and the consequences of more unregulated free speech.
The social media platform’s owner, billionaire Tesla chief Elon Musk, announced Friday that he plans to strip users of the ability to “block” other users from any aspect of the social media site, with the exception of private “direct messages”. to inform’.
Musk’s comments sparked a wave of concern from the site’s users, including many subscribers to the $8-a-month “Twitter Blue,” now “X Premium” services, who compared “blocking” to “self-defense.” and their rights under the 2nd Amendment.
But Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey praised the move, replying “100. only mute.’
The current owner of X (formerly Twitter), billionaire Tesla chief Elon Musk, has announced that he plans to strip users of the ability to “block” other users from any aspect of the microblogging site, except for “direct messages.” The statement sparked a wave of discussion on the platform
Musk (left) has repeatedly sparked controversy over changes to the social media site, which he took ownership of last October. A worker (right) dismantles the Twitter board at the site’s headquarters on July 24, 2023, after Musk renamed the platform “X”
Twitter’s new name and logo, “X.” as seen atop the headquarters in downtown San Francisco on July 30, 2023
Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey praised the move, replying “100. only mute’
But Musk’s comments sparked a wave of concern from the site’s users, including many subscribers to the $8-a-month “Twitter Blue,” now “X Premium” services, who compared “blocking” to “self-defense.” and their US Constitutional rights under the 2nd Amendment
Musk has repeatedly sparked controversy over his changes to the social media site, which he took ownership of last October.
In June, Musk was accused of flouting free speech for reneging on a deal to air a Daily Wire-funded movie over claims it “misinterprets” transgender people — claiming the CEO was later shot by the calling the decision a “mistake” by his staffers.
The social media site — which has lost tens of billions of dollars in value by Musk’s own estimates since its $44 billion purchase last year — has spent much of the year fending off competitors, including Meta’s Instagram-based Threads and open-source source microblogging platform Mastodon.
Last month, in an effort to curb ad revenue, Musk announced plans to cut ad rates on the platform by 50 percent.
While it remains unclear whether Musk will continue to disable the blocking feature, many users on the platform continue to beg the billionaire to reconsider.
“Blocking is critical peace of mind for many people as it generally encourages the cyberstalkers to move on,” said an X Premium user with the username @WallStreetSilv, noted.
‘It’s like getting rid of the Second Amendment’ said another, @gollysue4truth. “You have no self-defense other than to withdraw completely from X. Save the block function.’