Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey finally came out and admitted in a statement released on Wednesday that the company’s decision to ban President Donald Trump from being able to use the platform set a “dangerous” precedent and stated that ultimately, the choice was a “failure” by the company to “promote healthy conversation.”
The comments from Dorsey come after Twitter has taken a massive hit in its overall value since banning President Trump last week after the riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“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,” Dorsey wrote. “Was this correct? I believe this was the right decision for Twitter. We faced an extraordinary and untenable circumstance, forcing us to focus all of our actions on public safety. Offline harm as a result of online speech is demonstrably real, and what drives our policy and enforcement above all.”
take our poll - story continues belowCompleting this poll grants you access to Ken Blackwell updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to this site's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.“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,” he 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.”
Dorsey then went on to claim that Twitter didn’t coordinate with other tech companies over the decision to ban the president and that other Big Tech companies made their own choices or “were emboldened by the actions of others.”
In other words, Twitter didn’t speak with these companies about banning the president, but it’s likely they were influenced by the decision on their own.
“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,” he said. “Yes, we all need to look critically at inconsistencies of our policy and enforcement. Yes, we need to look at how our service might incentivize distraction and harm. Yes, we need more transparency in our moderation operations. All this can’t erode a free and open global internet.”
“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,” the CEO went on to say. “We are trying to do our part by funding an initiative around an open decentralized standard for social media. Our goal is to be a client of that standard for the public conversation layer of the internet.”
The main problem that critics of the banning of President Trump seem to have is that the policy they cite for justification of their action isn’t being enforced consistently.
A lot more people would be supportive of banning Trump from Twitter if the rule was even remotely close to being enforced consistently. No excuse for allowing literal terrorists, but banning Trump. https://t.co/gVz2n1TINK
— Caleb Hull (I'm With the CCP Don't Ban Me) (@CalebJHull) January 14, 2021
Whether or not such policies are consistently enforced is just as important as whether or not this call was the correct one. https://t.co/qrsrhJiiSh
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) January 14, 2021
This is definitely a dangerous precedent, which is obviously something a majority of conservatives feel too. Otherwise there wouldn’t be a mass exodus from Twitter by conservatives to other platforms like Gab.
It’s a true battle for freedom of speech right now and Big Tech is making it clear which side they are really on.