A blocked account can no longer send messages to the blocker, nor can it view its posts.

It seems that former Twitter founder, Jack Dorsey, agrees with Musk's decision, as he commented on the issue saying, "One hundred percent. Just mute it."

However, there are concerns that muting an account will not be enough protection against harassment, abuse, or stalking.

The "mute" function currently only stops notifications about the muted account's posts, but the muted account can still view and respond to the posts of the person who used the mute feature.

One user described Musk's decision as a "grave mistake," stating that there are "toxic individuals" on the platform that users simply do not want to interact with in any way.

Removing the blocking feature may also violate the terms and conditions of stores like the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Both stores impose conditions stating that social media apps must allow users to isolate content that includes harassment or bullying.

This could mean that X is no longer downloadable from those stores.

If the policy goes ahead, it is unclear whether all blocked accounts would automatically become unblocked.

However, users have the option to make their accounts private, hiding their tweets from the public and allowing only accepted followers to see their posts.

Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, has made a series of changes since taking over the social media platform, including firing the company's top executive team and charging for the "blue check" feature - or verification - on the site.

Elon Musk is an active user of X, and is well known for not always being serious or following through on the many ideas he presents to his 153 million followers.

X itself rarely responds to inquiries from journalists, making it difficult to verify anything he says on behalf of the company. However, as its owner, he is by default an important source, albeit an unreliable one.

The block button is a staple tool for those who feel attacked or bullied or simply want to shut down an account they have a strong grievance against (and X is full of such accounts).

If you report an account, the first advice you receive is either to block or mute it while it is being investigated. This is not unique to X.

Muting an account means you do not see its content, but the account holder sees your content. Forcing you to remain visible to someone you are trying to avoid or feel afraid of seems like an unusual step.

Musk has made it clear that he wants his site to be "the digital town square" where all voices are heard, but he is surrounded by clashes with the terms and conditions of app stores and social media regulations regarding protecting users from potential harm online.