Blocking users is one of the main ways people deal with abuse and harassment on Twitter – and though it’s not always effective (users create other accounts to get around blocks), it helps.
Twitter is now allowing users to import and export block lists, making it easier for users to block groups of people in bulk.
“Mute and block are tools to help you control your Twitter experience. While many users find them useful, we also recognize that some users — those who experience high volumes of unwanted interactions on Twitter — need more sophisticated tools,” says Twitter Safety engineer Xiaoyun Zhang. “That’s where this new feature comes in. You can now export and share your block lists with people in your community facing similar issues or import another user’s list into your own account and block multiple accounts all at once, instead of blocking them individually. We also hope these advanced blocking tools will prove useful to the developer community to further improve users’ experience.”