On Saturday, X (previously Twitter) chairman Elon Musk tweeted he could be eradicating the microblogging platform’s block operate. It will stay intact for direct messages, however would in any other case grow to be out of date.
That is the most recent in a sequence of controversial and sometimes complicated strikes from Musk since he took possession of the platform in October 2022. Why does Musk need to block the block operate? And what may the implications be for customers, and certainly the way forward for the platform?
Why block the ‘block’?
Merely, the block operate on X prevents one person from interacting with one other. With the press of a button, the blocker can deny one other person the power to learn their tweets or reshare their content material.
Musk’s dislike of this function isn’t new. In June he remarked that “blocking public posts is senseless”. He has additionally condemned campaigns amongst customers to dam subscribers paying for a Twitter Blue subscription (which grants them perks equivalent to a blue tick beside their identify and the power to edit posts).
Musk’s newest pronouncement is perhaps associated to his self-styled “free speech absolutist” persona. Final 12 months, after he introduced the deal to buy X (then Twitter), Musk remarked:
Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital city sq. the place issues very important to the way forward for humanity are debated.
Accordingly, Musk then restored accounts that had been banned for what earlier website moderators categorised as harmful content material. These high-profile reinstatements included rapper Kanye West (eliminated for anti-Semitism), congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (eliminated for spreading COVID misinformation) and right-wing persona Dominick McGee (who posted youngster abuse materials).
In June of this 12 months, Musk publicly mentioned “distasteful” content material – together with tweets celebrating a migrant boat accident within the Mediterranean Sea wherein lives had been misplaced – might stay on-line so long as they weren’t unlawful.
In fact, “blocking” somebody on social media isn’t the identical as eradicating their account or deleting content material. Blocking will not be censorship as that is generally understood in a social media context; it doesn’t contain, say, eradicating customers or their content material from a platform, and even shadow-banning (whereby a platform reduces the visibility of sure posts amongst a lot of customers).
That mentioned, blocking does threaten the pugilistic mannequin of free speech Musk endorses. He has referred to as X the “participant versus participant” (a type of duelling mode in on-line video video games) of social media. The probability of skirmishes is decreased when “gamers” can block each other.
What would the implications be?
Maybe blocking the “block” operate would permit energetic and heated (however not dangerous) debate to flourish on X. Or maybe not. As Adi Robertson writes in an article for The Verge:
Blocking offers some very tangible advantages, serving to customers (particularly high-profile ones) do something from avoiding harassment to easily cleansing up spam of their replies.
It could additionally stop publicity to hate speech, which has risen since Musk took possession. In line with the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, X “fails to behave on 99% of hate posted by Twitter Blue subscribers”. Musk has disputed the findings and filed a lawsuit in opposition to the group (an motion that sits uneasily alongside his free-speech absolutism).
The shortcoming to dam hate speech might assist normalise it and create a hostile surroundings for individuals in teams which are usually focused, equivalent to ladies, LGBTQ+ individuals, Indigenous individuals and migrants.
X has lengthy been labelled a “hellsite” on account of the toxicity that seems on the platform. In a post-block period, it’d grow to be much more hellish.
What occurs past the block?
Musk has advised “a stronger type of mute” might exchange the block operate. The mute operate at the moment permits customers to keep away from seeing the actions of sure different customers – however the muted particular person can nonetheless work together with the muter (equivalent to by commenting on their posts) in a manner {that a} blocked particular person can’t.
What would “a stronger type of mute” seem like? Musk hasn’t mentioned. His plans to take away the block and implement this operate appear significantly unclear when you think about he has already fired so lots of the firm’s employees, together with technical employees.
Additional, each the Apple Retailer and Google Play have tips stipulating that platforms internet hosting user-generated content material should permit the blocking of different customers. Eradicating this capability may result in the app shops dropping X, which might spell financial demise for the platform.
Worded otherwise, Musk may reach “blocking” X from its customers completely. Or he might argue a stronger type of mute fulfils the identical necessities because the block operate.
Both manner, the indicators level to a robust probability of X turning into a very nightmarish city sq.. 
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