Oh please: Letting a user block another user has nothing to do with a free and open internet. Save the anger for when there’s an actual threat to the internet, otherwise people will just start tuning free/open internet advocates out entirely.
It is quite bad really. One feature seem to be to single out users so they can't hear you in a group chat. To me that is highly toxic. Speaking behind someone's back, to everyone. It will be used for bullying of anything.