Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey on Thursday defended his company’s decision to ban United States President Donald Trump’s acco...
Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey on Thursday defended his company’s decision to ban United States President Donald Trump’s account, but warned that such actions could set a dangerous precedent.
“I believe this was the right decision for Twitter,” Dorset said in a series of tweets. “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.”
Twitter had on January 8 suspended Trump’s account permanently after thousands of his supporters stormed the US Capitol in Washington DC, and clashed with the police. The microblogging website had first temporarily suspended the outgoing president’s account but later imposed the permanent ban, citing “risk of further incitement of violence”. Apart from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have also blocked Trump’s accounts for policy violations.
In his tweets, Dorsey said he took no pride in the ban. “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,” he wrote.
The Twitter CEO acknowledged that the ban could have “significant ramifications”. Dorsey also said that he felt the decision to suspend the account was a...
