Elon Musk, owner of X (previously known as Twitter), recently announced plans to introduce audio and video call capabilities on the platform.
According to Musk’s vision, X will become the ultimate “global address book,” a new feature that would be available across iOS, Android, Mac, and PC, and uniquely, it wouldn’t necessitate the use of a phone number for making calls.
This move is perceived as a challenge to Mark Zuckerberg’s META, the tech behemoth that owns platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, all of which have their own call functionalities. However, Musk’s announcement about potential changes to X’s features— especially the removal of the ‘block’ function– has elicited significant concerns among cybersecurity experts.
Jake Moore, a notable Global Cybersecurity Advisor at ESET, voiced concerns to the Daily Mail, suggesting that the introduction of call capabilities, if not properly implemented, could lead to an abundance of spam and unwanted calls. And, with X potentially lacking a block feature, Moore emphasized the necessity for the platform to find an effective way to shield users from unwanted calls.
Musk’s inclination towards eliminating the ‘block’ feature hasn’t been well-received by the user community. Musk, however, feels that the existence of both ‘block’ and ‘mute’ features is redundant. He’s particularly critical of “giant block lists” on Twitter, asserting they adversely affect the platform’s recommendation system.
Instead, he’s hinted at replacing ‘block’ with a more potent version of ‘mute’. To clarify, the ‘mute’ feature currently lets users prevent specific followers from appearing in their feed, but these muted individuals can still access the muter’s content. In contrast, ‘block’ ensures a total halt of interactions between the involved parties.
Details regarding the removal of the ‘block’ function, and what might replace it, remain unspecified by Musk.
Information for this story was found via Twitter and the sources mentioned within the article. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
