Elon Musk argues with actor James Woods about X’s blocking feature
Elon Musk doesn’t appear to be shaken by actor James Woods’ threat to stop using X if the social media platform goes ahead with a plan to remove a feature that allows users to block others. The billionaire tweeted, “Then delete your account.”
The rude response that the owner of X to publish To the site on Sunday, it came after Woods, a one-time Musk supporter, vowed to leave the platform (formerly known as Twitter) if Musk strips users of the ability for users to block certain accounts from viewing and interacting with their posts.
“In the midst of a defamation lawsuit, I was targeted by thirty trolls recruited by the defendant to harass me,” Woods said in a statement. mail Last week when the news came out. “If[Musk removes the blocking feature of X]I will have no choice but to retire from this site.”
Musk, who calls himself the ultimate freedom of speech, announce In a post last Friday that X would end the ability for users to limit their interactions with certain accounts except for direct messages, addition In a later post that the ban feature “doesn’t make sense” for the platform.
The planned change caused an uproar among some users, some of whom also vowed to leave X if the feature was removed.
I will completely delete my account and leave this app if X even tries to *test* this policy, books 1 user. “It’s absolutely sick and disgusting.”
“As a climate scientist, blocking is the only thing that makes my participation here on Twitter/X possible,” another user He said.
It’s still not clear if or when X might remove its block button. If the change goes into effect, X could be removed from the Google Play and Apple app stores, potentially deepening the social media platform. financial problems. Both digital storefronts require apps with user-generated content to provide the blocking feature.
X responded to CBS MoneyWatch’s request for comment with an email saying, “We’ll get back to you shortly.”
Promoting freedom of expression – or revenue?
In another post, Woods contested interpretations of the X policy change as a move toward enhancing free speech on the site, speculating that the decision had more to do with boosting the site’s ad revenue.
“X users are just pawns in turning the site into an online shopping mall,” Woods said in a statement. mail on saturday. “The man I thought was a defender of free speech is just another greedy capitalist.”
Last month, Musk revealed the social media company’s plans Advertising revenue decreased by almost 50%. X also faces competition from alternative blogging platforms like Meta-backed Threads and Bluesky.
