Twitter Reverts Blocking Policy After User Outrage

Earlier today we told you about updates to Twitter’s blocking policy that allowed blocked users to follow and interact with those who blocked them, but effectively “muted” their activity so the blockers wouldn’t see it. As you might imagine, Twitter users were unhappy with the update, and voiced their opinions on the social network.

Bad move @Twitter. When we want to block, we want to block. You’re giving more power to the trolls. For shame.

— Lauren Weinstein (@laurenweinstein) December 13, 2013

This evening Twitter announced it was reverting the blocking policy back to one it had previously: blocked users can no longer follow the person who blocked them or view their tweets in their timelines, and users will be able to tell that they have been blocked.

“We believe this is not ideal, largely due to the retaliation against blocking users by blocked users (and sometimes their friends) that often occurs,” the company said in a statement. “Some users worry just as much about post-blocking retaliation as they do about pre-blocking abuse.”

Public accounts can still be viewed by everyone, so just because someone is blocked, it is still possible for them to read public tweets by searching on Twitter or visiting the blocker’s profile. If you block someone, you still won’t see or get notified about any of their activity.

Any blocks users had previously implemented will still be in place.