Syed Imran Haider 
Many third-party app makers are ending their services for Twitter as its API access got locked in a lofty paywall. Block Party is the latest Anti-harassment tool to bite the dust. It enabled Twitter users to stay protected from targeted harassment on the platform.
According to a blog post by Block Party, the company feels heartbroken for not being able to offer people protection from spammers and harassers on Twitter for some time now. It tried hard to make it happen, but it could not make it happen. Block Party helped people mute and block millions of trolls in the last couple of years, and now it will put an indefinite hiatus on its anti-harassment tool starting on 31 May 2023.
Twitter Alienates Developers
Twitter seems to have alienated developers since Elon Musk took over the social media platform in October 2022. He went on shutting down the Toolbox presenting third-party developers’ work. Popular third-party clients, including Twitterifics and Tweetbot, stopped working without notice by the beginning of the new year. Twitter paywalled access to its API, causing damage to its ties with many developers within months.
Although Twitter charges $100 to offer API access for the basic tier, developers do not find it sustainable for most projects. The paywall is also a reason for academics and researchers to quit, as many of them lack the institutional funding required to invest lots of dollars in data that was once free for users.
Tracy Chou, the founder of Block Party, says Twitter proactively put out to his company before Musk took over the company to work together in a cycle. It seems Twitter no longer has those days when community developers used to thrive. The lack of access to the Block Party app is another significant blow.
According to Chou, he feels sad as Block Party has to put its products on hold for now. Many reasons contribute to Chou’s emotions over the hiatus on the anti-harassment tool, including the fact that he also uses Block Party. He built it since he was aware of the negative impact on one’s mental health because of viewing shit in their mentions all day.
More Opportunities for Block Party
The hiatus on the anti-harassment tool does not cause an end to Block Party as a business. It raised $4.8m in September 2022 to let the platform boost privacy and anti-harassment tools beyond Elon Musk-owned Twitter. Since the app is about to put a hold on its flagship product, it will be significantly effective in building its new tool: Privacy Party.
While users could benefit from Block Party to have a safer Twitter experience, the app earned the reputation of helping users avoid crises, such as targeted harassment movements. Its upcoming tool, Privacy Party, is a proactive tool. The extension will bring privacy recommendations for Venmo, Twitter, and Facebook users. It also intends to reach LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram in the coming weeks.
Block Party announced the Privacy Party, saying it is usually vague regarding social media safety to identify what you should do or what decisions you should make. The company aims to make privacy decisions simpler and better through the browser extension because such things can be thorny to navigate. When you decide on the boundaries, automation will find the most suitable settings for you and executive them.
Besides putting Block Party on hiatus, the company rolled out Privacy Party for existing customers in alpha testing. The company’s block post reads it is not the first setback it has experienced in making the web safer for all, nor will it be the last one. However, it is another example of why nobody can trust large social media networks to do their best for user safety unless regulations or other noteworthy incentives are in place.
