Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has broken his silence following his company’s decision to ban Donald Trump from the platform. Taking to Twitter itself, Dorsey put out a long tweet thread addressing the situation.
Twitter and other social media sites have had a troublesome time dealing with misinformation and hate speech on their platforms. These companies have implemented various methods to try and curb the spread of dangerous information.
However, following Trump’s words prior to the attack on the Capitol many social media platforms including Twitter felt they had no option left. Twitter opted to ban Trump permanently for inciting violence which has divided many on the platform.
One of the main issues people see with the decision is that it will shift his mainstream followers onto more niche platforms. Many feel Trump could relaunch himself on a platform such as Parler.
However, this right-wing social media platform has itself run into trouble. Apple, Google and Amazon now refuse to host the app following its refusal to implement moderation guidelines. However, this does not mean Trump would be out of options when it comes to alternative social media platforms.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has, rather understandably, remained quiet since the decision to ban Trump. Now he has broken his silence to help explain the decision and defend his company in a long tweet thread.
Jack Dorsey finally breaks silence on Trump ban
As reported by Engadget one of the most poignant quotes from his tweet was that “a ban is a failure of ours ultimately to promote healthy conversation”. Despite defending the banning of Trump he believes that it also “sets a precedent I feel is dangerous” according to Dorsey.
However, Dorsey tried to dispel claims that the company was censoring on the platform. He said, “a company making a business decision to moderate itself is different from a government removing access”. Dorsey was also quick to point out that the decision to ban Trump was not coordinated with any other organisations that did the same over a similar time period.
Dorsey’s tweet sums up the situation quite nicely. Although many will rejoice at the decision to ban Trump and other despise it, what is clear is that the decision could be a monumental one.
With this precedent now in place, Twitter and others have to hold themselves to that standard of behaviour going forwards. Something that will by no means be easy in this current climate of shades of grey on social media.