Following Elon Musk’s announcement that the “block” feature would be removed from X (formerly Twitter), actor James Woods pointed out why he believed this was a bad idea. Musk, the self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” responded, “then delete your account.” Musk then blocked Woods, popular conservative pundit and author Catturd, and other prominent users who dared to make their opinion on his intensely unpopular idea known.
Breitbart News recently reported that Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and owner of Twitter/X, has revealed plans to remove the blocking feature from the platform, claiming that the feature “makes no sense.” While users will still be able to block others from directly messaging them, the removal of the blocking feature is expected to make it more challenging for users to remove abusive posts from their timeline.
Elon Musk looks puzzled (Anadolu Agency/Getty)
The decision has been met with criticism from practically everyone beyond fanatical Musk loyalists. Many have voiced concerns that muting an account, which only stops notifications about an account’s posts, would not provide sufficient protection from cases of harassment, abuse, or stalking. An account that is muted can still view the user’s posts and reply to them, leaving users vulnerable to unwanted interactions. Other critics say the loss of the block button means their replies will be filled with crypto and porn bots. Musk was quick to block critics making such points, including conservative social media powerhouse Catturd.
Uh – for some reason @elonmusk blocked me.
I guess he likes the block feature afterall – 😂 pic.twitter.com/7n5rGK1JPs
— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) August 20, 2023
Continuing his trend of blocking anyone that criticized him, Musk next took issue with conservative actor James Woods who raised a number of points about why the removal of the block feature did not make sense.
Quote tweeting a person that responded to him, Woods wrote:
Thank you. If @elonmusk removes the ability to block concerted harassment by trolls or organized political entities, how will “X” be any different from Jack Dorsey’s horrid Twitter?
Musk, whom I once championed, is only doing this to protect his advertisers anyway. Users of X are mere pawns to turn the site into an electronic shopping mall. The man I thought was a defender of free speech is just another greedy capitalist. Disappointing, but not surprising.
Thank you. If @elonmusk removes the ability to block concerted harassment by trolls or organized political entities, how will “X” be any different from Jack Dorsey’s horrid Twitter?
Musk, whom I once championed, is only doing this to protect his advertisers anyway. Users of X… https://t.co/bR3oMU4f2P
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) August 19, 2023
Musk responded by telling Woods to delete his account if he didn’t like it:
Then delete your account
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 20, 2023
And shortly afterwards, blocked Woods himself, which Woods pointed out is exactly the point of the block button, Musk does not have to see Woods criticism if he chooses not to:
You prerogative, sir, which is exactly my point. Have a nice day. pic.twitter.com/qt8ZD3wbM9
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) August 20, 2023
Musk then tweeted that it was “fun” to block those who raised issues with the removal of the feature:
Pretty fun blocking people who complain that blocking is going away.
How does the medicine taste? 😂😂
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 20, 2023
Some users pointed out that this blanket decision to remove the block feature is completely at odds with a tweet from Musk late last year in which he stated all major policy decisions on the platform would be decided by vote:
— Wiz | Utopian 💭 (@wizofecom) August 20, 2023
Read more about Musk’s plans to remove the block function at Breitbart News here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan