Autoblocks auf Twitter: Die offene Gesellschaft und ihre Feinde

The truth is, it’s not “harassment” that landed these people on blocklists, but political disagreements. Christina Hoff Sommers, Cathy Young, and Louise Mensch were all added because they are critical of mainstream feminist arguments. Richard Dawkins was reported to the Block Bot for, among other things, criticising Islam. Ashe Schow was reported to the Block Bot for writing articles critical of feminist narratives in the Washington Examiner. Brian Cox, ludicrously, was reported for retweeting an article defending free speech on campus.

Others, particularly in the gaming industry, are on the GG autoblocker purely because of who they follow on Twitter.

Whether it’s political intolerance or guilt by association, it is clear that the primary purpose of these lists is not to block ‘trolls’ or ‘abusers’. They are, rather, the digital equivalent of campus safe spaces – walled gardens for people afraid of intellectual and political challenge, or for people so sure of their convictions that disagreement is taken as an insult.

But blocklists are more dangerous than campus safe spaces. While student authoritarians may, if they’re lucky, prevent a ‘triggering’ speaker from reaching a few hundred students, Twitter blocklists cut off tens of thousands. Furthermore, by attaching labels such as ‘abuser’. ‘bigot’, and in some cases ‘racist’, ‘transphobe’ or ‘rape apologist’ to the blocklists, they are responsible for the kind of mass smearing that would make Joe McCarthy’s eyes water.

Blockbots don’t just block. They attack reputations, ostracize, and cut off business leaders, activists and journalists from whole sections of the public. They may be a particularly gullible section of the public, but it is still an issue that Twitter needs to address.

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