Musk: The X platform will unblock accounts

 Elon Musk said his social networking platform X, formerly known as Twitter, will remove the protection feature that allows users to block other accounts, in another controversial step for the company he bought last year.

The ban feature on the X platform allows any user to prevent certain accounts from communicating with him, seeing his posts, or following him. "The ban will be unblocked as a 'feature', with the exception of direct messages," Musk said in a post on the platform, according to Reuters.

He added that X will keep the mute feature that removes the tweets of certain accounts, but unlike bans, it does not inform these accounts of this action. The billionaire describes himself as an absolute supporter of free speech, but some critics have said his approach is irresponsible.

Researchers concluded that there has been an increase in hate speech and anti-Semitic content on the platform since Musk's acquisition. Some governments have accused the company of not doing enough to moderate content. It is possible that removing or restricting the blocking feature may cause X to conflict with the guidelines of the Apple App Store and Alphabet's Google Play.

Apple says that apps where user-generated content must provide the ability to block abusive users. The Google Play Store also says that apps must provide an internal system to block users and the content they post. X, Google or Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.