Blocking a person on X (formerly Twitter) won’t be more of blocking “anymore” after the micro-blogging platform announced it will in a new update roll-out, allow accounts you’ve blocked to see all of your posts if your account is set to public, but won’t be able to engage in any way. According to the X Engineering account, @XEng, this change is meant to increase transparency, as users will be able to see if others are trying to hide or share harmful or private information about them.
Users are already receiving a “Block is changing soon” pop-up message, warning about the impending update.
“If your posts are set to public, accounts you have blocked will be able to view them, but they will not be able to engage,” the message states. “For more control over who can see your posts, you can still protect your account.”
In cases where block was being used to prevent harassment, stalking, and other dangerous behaviors, this isn’t great news. Users can still obscure their tweets by going private, but some people such as celebrities, journalists, influencers, etc. —still need the platform for their livelihood.
Blocking on X used to be simple. If you blocked an account, they couldn’t see your posts or interact with them. This new change makes blocking less restrictive.
This change is just one of many that Musk has made to X since purchasing it. Reportedly, this is being done to promote free speech, something that Elon Musk has professed is needed on the platform. He believes that users should be able to see all public posts, even if they are from someone they have blocked.
It remains to be seen how this change will affect users. Some may find it helpful, while others may find it annoying.
