Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey: Banning Trump Was the 'Right Decision'
Admits censoring conservatives is setting a 'dangerous precedent' long term
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Twitter's founder and CEO Jack Dorsey has spoken out to defend his company's recent purging of President Donald Trump and mass censorship of conservatives on his platform, claiming it was the "right decision."
Despite speaking out to defend the moves, Dorsey admitted that Big Tech's anti-Trump effort sets a "dangerous precedent" and will be "destructive" in the long term.
Dorsey made a statement in a series of Wednesday Tweets, musing about the permanent ban Twitter handed down last week after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
"I do not celebrate or feel pride" in the ban, Dorsey wrote.
"I believe this was the right decision for Twitter," he added.
"We faced an extraordinary and untenable circumstance, forcing us to focus all of our actions on public safety."
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"Offline harm as a result of online speech is demonstrably real, and what drives our policy and enforcement above all," 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 wrote.
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 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.
— jack (@jack) January 14, 2021
Dorsey went on to express concern over the actions of Amazon, Apple, and Google, which took Twitter competitors offline over the weekend after it became a haven for Trump supporters.
Apple and Google removed Parler from their app stores, making it unavailable on smartphones.
Parler's entire site also went offline this week after Amazon ceased to provide hosting services to the company.
"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," he wrote.
"This concept was challenged last week when a number of foundational internet tool providers also decided not to host what they found dangerous," he continued.
"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."
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 concept was challenged last week when a number of foundational internet tool providers also decided not to host what they found dangerous. I do not believe this was coordinated. More likely: companies came to their own conclusions or were emboldened by the actions of others.
— jack (@jack) January 14, 2021
This concept was challenged last week when a number of foundational internet tool providers also decided not to host what they found dangerous. I do not believe this was coordinated. More likely: companies came to their own conclusions or were emboldened by the actions of others.
— jack (@jack) January 14, 2021
Meanwhile, Snapchat confirmed on Wednesday that its indefinite suspension of Trump has been extended to a permanent ban, according to The Daily Mail.
"Last week we announced an indefinite suspension of President Trump's Snapchat account, and have been assessing what long term action is in the best interest of our Snapchat community," Snapchat told The Wrap in a statement.
"In the interest of public safety, and based on his attempts to spread misinformation, hate speech, and incite violence, which are clear violations of our guidelines, we have made the decision to permanently terminate his account."
Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram had already issued indefinitely suspended Trump last week.
On Wednesday, YouTube suspended the Trump campaign's channel for at least a week amid concerns over "ongoing potential for violence," meaning the channel will be locked through the end of Trump's term.
"After careful review, and in light of concerns about the ongoing potential for violence, we removed new content uploaded to the Donald J. Trump channel and issued a strike for violating our policies for inciting violence," a YouTube spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
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Under the suspension, Trump's channel is temporarily prevented from uploading new videos or live streams for at least seven days, although the channel remains live, YouTube said.
The official White House YouTube channel now remains one of Trump's only ways to directly reach American citizens through social media.
On Wednesday night, he issued a video statement on the channel soon after the House voted to impeach him for a second time, on a charge of "incitement of insurrection."
The president said the January 6 Capitol riot "angered and appalled millions of Americans across the political spectrum."
"I want to be very clear," Trump said.
"I unequivocally condemn the violence that we saw last week.
"Violence and vandalism have absolutely no place in our country – and no place in our movement."
