Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey believes President Donald Trump’s ban on Twitter sets a “dangerous” precedent but that it is was the “right decision.”
Dorsey expressed on Wednesday evening that he does not “celebrate” or “feel pride” that Trump’s personal account is permanently banned from Twitter — or “how we got here.”
“I believe this was the right decision for Twitter,” Dorsey tweeted.
He added that “having to ban an account has real and significant ramifications,” adding, “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.”
Dorsey continued:
“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.”
Check out Dorsey’s tweets below:
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
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
The check and accountability on this power has always been the fact that a service like Twitter is one small part of the larger public conversation happening across the internet. If folks do not agree with our rules and enforcement, they can simply go to another internet service.
— jack (@jack) January 14, 2021
This moment in time might call for this dynamic, but over the long term it will be destructive to the noble purpose and ideals of the open internet. A company making a business decision to moderate itself is different from a government removing access, yet can feel much the same.
— jack (@jack) January 14, 2021
The reason I have so much passion for #Bitcoin is largely because of the model it demonstrates: a foundational internet technology that is not controlled or influenced by any single individual or entity. This is what the internet wants to be, and over time, more of it will be.
— jack (@jack) January 14, 2021
This will take time to build. We are in the process of interviewing and hiring folks, looking at both starting a standard from scratch or contributing to something that already exists. No matter the ultimate direction, we will do this work completely through public transparency.
— jack (@jack) January 14, 2021
I believe the internet and global public conversation is our best and most relevant method of achieving this. I also recognize it does not feel that way today. Everything we learn in this moment will better our effort, and push us to be what we are: one humanity working together.
— jack (@jack) January 14, 2021
Dorsey also wrote, “If folks do not agree with our rules and enforcement, they can simply go to another internet service.”
Trump’s account was not only permanently suspended on Twitter, but last week, Facebook also extended the suspension of the president’s account indefinitely, and earlier this week YouTube announced Trump’s channel is suspended for at least seven days. Snapchat also permanently banned Trump.
“It’s important that we acknowledge this is a time of great uncertainty and struggle for so many around the world. 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,” Dorsey added.
Dorsey concluded his tweet thread, “I believe the internet and global public conversation is our best and most relevant method of achieving this. I also recognize it does not feel that way today. Everything we learn in this moment will better our effort, and push us to be what we are: one humanity working together.”
After his personal account was permanently suspended on Twitter, Trump accused Twitter of “banning free speech.” The president also said at the time that there will be “a big announcement soon, while we also look at the possibilities of building out our own platform in the near future.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel spokesperson spoke out after Trump’s Twitter ban.
Her spokesperson Steffen Seibert said earlier this week, “This fundamental right can be intervened in, but according to the law and within the framework defined by legislators — not according to a decision by the management of social media platforms,” according to The Associated Press.
“Seen from this angle, the chancellor considers it problematic that the accounts of the U.S. president have now been permanently blocked,” Seibert added.
