X’s Will No Longer Prevent Blocked Users from Viewing Your Public Posts

• Musk has decided to roll out a new update to the block feature on X. Although it will stop blocked users from engaging, it will still allow them to see your public posts.
• According to Musk, this update should have been made a long time ago.
• Users are naturally not happy with this decision and are worried about the increase in cyber-harassment that's expected to follow.

Elon Musk recently updated the block feature on X (formerly Twitter). It will no longer prevent the blocked user from viewing public posts - it will only prevent them from engaging.

Speaking about this update, Musk said that it was long overdue because blocking people from seeing public posts makes no sense. Plus, it's possible that tweaking the block feature will increase the visibility of advertisements.

He also shared a post on the platform announcing this change and said that it's high time this happened.

No official date for when this update will be rolled out was shared but some users have reported that they have already started seeing changes in their account.

How Did the Users Take This News?

Musk's post received thousands of comments. As expected, the users were not happy with this change. Their biggest concern is that removing the block option will make X toxic and increase instances of harassment.

For example, an X user called Nzube Udezue (also known as the musician Zuby) said that it was a bad idea.

There are many reasons somebody may not want certain individuals from easily seeing all their public posts. There are some really bad actors on social media, sadly," - X User.

Another user replied that they don't want the creeps" they blocked from seeing their post at all. So far, it doesn't seem like Musk's decision will change no matter how much backlash it gets.

After all, he has taken similarly controversial decisions even in the past which faced a lot of criticism and yet he followed through with them.

Musk's History of Erratic Decisions

This won't be the first time that Musk has made a decision that will baffle both the users of X as well as its rivals.

At a time when user security and privacy are the top-most priority for most tech companies, Musk has taken a step that will make his users more vulnerable to digital abuse, all in the name of freedom of speech.

It's no secret that he is a staunch supporter of freedom of speech.

• For the same reason, soon after he took over the company in 2022, he fired the entire content moderation team. As a result, hate speech including racial slurs increased by nearly 3 times since then.
• Similar trends have been noticed in anti-semitic posts, misogynist, anti-LGBTQ+, and Islamophobic posts. Basically, all the types of hate speeches that are usually restricted from public platforms have found their safe haven in X.
• The EU had even issued a warning to Elon Musk regarding illegal content and disinformation on the platform.

Previously, only people from minority groups were the primary target. But now after this update, anyone can become a victim of cyberbullying.

The post X's Will No Longer Prevent Blocked Users from Viewing Your Public Posts appeared first on The Tech Report.