X, formerly Twitter, will allow blocked users to read posts

X, the social networking website previously known as Twitter, is going ahead with a controversial change which enables blocked users to read posts, the company announced on Wednesday.

“Soon we’ll be launching a change to how the block function works,” the company’s engineering team said. “If your posts are set to public, accounts you have blocked will be able to view them, but they will not be able to engage.”

Blocked users will not be able to like, reply or repost content, the company said. The official announcement received an overwhelming number of negative comments, with concern it could facilitate stalking and harassment.

Currently, when someone blocks another user, that user will not be able to see their content anywhere on the app. A message saying “You’re blocked” is shown when the blocked user tries to access the profile page directly.

X’s engineering team defended the move, which it said will allow for “greater transparency.” It added that the block button, in its current version, can be used to share and hide harmful information about those they’ve blocked.

“Users will be able to see if such behavior occurs with this update,” the team said.

Elon Musk, who purchased Twitter in 2022 and changed its name to X, has long argued for the removal of the block feature. “Block is going to be deleted as a ‘feature’, except for DMs,” he said last year.