Elon Musk on Friday said that users of X, formerly known as Twitter, will no longer be able to block others on the platform. The announcement has caused uproar as the ‘blocking' feature helps avoid unwanted and spam posts from specific accounts and allows users to control their experience. Removing the feature could also violate the guidelines of Google's PlayStore and Apple's App Store and may result in Twitter getting delisted from these stores.
What does blocking mean on Twitter
Blocking is a tool that helps users in “restricting specific accounts from contacting them, seeing their Tweets, and following them.” The feature allows users to control how they want to interact on the platform and helps curb stalking, harassment, and bullying among other issues.
When a user blocks an account on Twitter then that account will not be able to follow that person anymore or view or find his/her tweets. A person also cannot view the following, followers list, likes and lists user who has blocked him. A blocked user is also not allowed to tag the other person in a photo. Blocking also means that you will no longer receive direct messages from the person you have blocked.
All these features will be gone if Elon Musk proceeds to do away with the blocking function. However, the billionaire has said that Twitter will still allow blocking DMs. “Block is going to be deleted as a “feature”, except for DMs,” Musk tweeted on Friday.
Block is going to be deleted as a “feature”, except for DMs
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 18, 2023
“It makes no sense,” he added in a follow-up tweet.
It makes no sense
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 18, 2023
What app stores' rules state?
Twitter could face trouble by removing the blocking feature as it could violate the terms and conditions stated by App Store and PlayStore pertaining to user-generated content.
According to Google PlayStore, apps that contain or feature user-generated content (UGC), which include platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Threads, must implement robust, effective, and ongoing UGC moderation. Google describes UGC as the content which is contributed to an app by users and which is accessible by “at least a subset of the app's users”.
The PlayStore states that such apps must provide an “in-app system for reporting objectionable UGC and users” and take “action against that UGC and/or user where appropriate”. PlayStore also requires apps containing UGC to provide an “in-app system for blocking UGC and users”.
Apple's App Store too states certain rules for apps that contain or feature user-generated content. The App Store says that these apps must include “the ability to block abusive users from the service”, “a method for filtering objectionable material from being posted to the app”, and “a mechanism to report offensive content and timely responses to concerns”.
Violating these rules could put Twitter at the risk of being removed from app stores.
