X to be removed from App Stores if block feature disabled. Elon Musk said on Friday that X, formerly known as Twitter, users will no longer be able to ban others on the network.
The news sparked outrage since the ‘blocking’ tool lets users avoid undesired and spam postings from certain accounts while also allowing them to control their experience.
Removing the functionality may also contravene the requirements of Google’s PlayStore and Apple’s App Store, potentially leading to Twitter’s delisting from both shops.
What does blocking mean?
Blocking is a feature that assists users in “restricting specific accounts from contacting them, seeing their Tweets, and following them.”
The tool gives users control over how they engage on the network, which helps to reduce stalking, harassment, and bullying, among other difficulties.
When a user blocks an account on Twitter, that account can no longer follow that person or access or discover his or her tweets.
A user cannot also access the following, followers list, likes, and listings of users who have blocked him. A prohibited user is also not permitted to tag another user in a photo.
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You will also 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.
X to be removed from App Stores if the block feature is disabled, check the tweet:
Is there ever a reason to block vs mute someone?
Give your reasons.
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) August 18, 2023
“It makes no sense,” he added in a follow-up tweet.
Twitter may suffer legal consequences if it removes the blocking option since it may violate the App Store and PlayStore’s rules and regulations regarding user-generated material.
Apps that incorporate or highlight user-generated content (UGC), such as Twitter, Facebook, and Threads, must adopt strong, effective, and continuous UGC moderation, according to Google PlayStore.
UGC is defined by Google as user-generated material that is visible to “at least a subset of the app’s users” and is submitted to an app by 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 risk of being removed from app stores.
