X, formerly Twitter, has announced on Wednesday, October 16 the upcoming implementation of a new operation for the Block function of the social network.
As in most social networks, X allows its users to “block” others: the blocked person will no longer be able to interact with or see messages from the account that blocked them. In the future, a blocked account will still not be able to interact with its blocker (no likes, no replies, no direct messages), but it will still be able to read the latter’s messages.
This novelty had already been mentioned last year by Elon Musk, the owner of the X platform, who had even proposed a more radical change – That block no longer applies only to direct messages. The social network finally opted for an intermediate development, but it represents a notable weakening of a basic functionality to fight harassment.
“A real victory for bullies”estimated British think tank OpenDemocracy in late September, when X detailed the project, noting that the blocking feature, despite its limitations, was a useful tool, especially for victims of domestic violence.
Shortly after the announcement of this change, Bluesky, a competing social network, experienced an influx of new users, as evidenced by its usage statistics.
