Yahoo Finance ‘WE FAILED’: Twitter CEO on banning Trump
Twitter chief Jack Dorsey has revealed concerns that banning outgoing President Donald Trump from big tech may set a dangerous precedent.
Dorsey said in a series of tweets that while he believes banning Trump from the platform after he incited insurrection at the US Capitol on Wednesday 6 January was “the right decision for Twitter”, it also carried “real and significant ramifications”.
I do not celebrate or feel pride in our having to ban @realDonaldTrump from Twitter, or how we got here. After a clear warning we’d take this action, we made a decision with the best information we had based on threats to physical safety both on and off Twitter. Was this correct?
— jack (@jack) January 14, 2021
“I feel a ban is a failure of ours ultimately to promote healthy conversation,” Dorsey wrote.
“Having to take these actions fragment the public conversation. They divide us. They limit the potential for clarification, redemption, and learning.
“And sets a precedent I feel is dangerous: the power an individual or corporation has over a part of the global public conversation.”
That said, having to ban an account has real and significant ramifications. While there are clear and obvious exceptions, I feel a ban is a failure of ours ultimately to promote healthy conversation. And a time for us to reflect on our operations and the environment around us.
— jack (@jack) January 14, 2021
Twitter was the first to ban Trump, with Facebook and Instagram following suit. Apple, Amazon and Google banned Parler, Twitter’s “free speech” rival, predominantly used by alt-right Trump supporters and Republicans.
Dorsey said he did not believe the bans introduced by big tech providers were coordinated, but were rather companies coming to their own conclusions about Trump’s actions.
The Twitter CEO flagged the company was funding an initiative around “an open decentralised standard for social media” called BlueSky.
“This will take time to build,” he said.
“Our goal in this moment is to disarm as much as we can, and ensure we are all building towards a greater common understanding, and a more peaceful existence on earth.”
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