Twitter announced that its new tweet reply control option will be rolled out for all iOS, Android and twitter website users. This new feature will allow users to choose who gets to reply to their Tweets. Users can allow everyone to reply or restrict it to only those users that they follow or even restrict the reply section to only the users mentioned in the Tweet. If a Tweet has a restricted reply section, it will be greyed out for users who can’t reply. They will still be able to view, like, share, Retweet and Retweet with Comment on the Tweet.
Twitter had been testing out this feature since May and it has since seen the tool being used to conduct several interviews and discussions while cutting the clutter of unnecessary spam. Users with access to the feature felt more comfortable tweeting since there were lesser abuse and spam from the Twitterati which allowed them to talk about sensitive topics more openly.
There is, however, the possibility of this feature being used for political or monetary gains by suppressing opposing views and making a particular viewpoint seem more widely accepted. However, the Retweet with Comment option can ease this problem, which according to twitter has been used 4 times more often on restricted tweets as compared to regular tweets. Twitter is also working on labels for restricted tweets so users clearly see if counter opinions are being suppressed. How the feature will be received on a larger scale remains to be seen.
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