In a widely shared way social media discussion, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on Wednesday upheld last week’s decision to ban President Trump from his company’s platform, saying it was something he didn’t “celebrate or feel proud of”, but something that was decided on “ based on threats to physical security both on and off Twitter. ”
Twitter permanently banned Mr. Trump’s report on Saturday because of the “risk of further incitement to violence” following the deadly siege on US Capitol.
Dorsey said it was “the right decision” in his post on Wednesday.
“We face an extraordinary and unsustainable circumstance, which forced us to focus all of our actions on public security,” he said. “The offline damage as a result of speaking online is proven to be real, and what drives our policy and enforcement above all else.”
However, Dorsey said, banning accounts “has real and significant ramifications”.
“Although there are clear and obvious exceptions, I think the ban is our failure to promote healthy conversation … Having to take these actions fragments the public conversation. They divide us. They limit the potential for enlightenment, redemption and learning. And it opens up a precedent that I consider dangerous: the power that an individual or company has over part of the global public conversation. “
He also said that Twitter is just a small part of a larger conversation on the internet.
Dorsey said that if people don’t agree with the rules of one platform and the application of those rules, “they can just go to another service”. But that ability is limited when events unfold as they did last week, when several seemingly uncoordinated social media sites censored Trump and others who allegedly incited violence in Washington, DC
“This moment may demand that dynamic, but in the long run it will be destructive to the noble purpose and ideals of the open Internet,” said Dorsey. “A company that makes the decision to moderate is different from a government that removes access, but can feel the same way.”
In efforts to help combat this, Dorsey said he is working on a platform that can serve as “a fundamental internet technology that is not controlled or influenced by any individual or entity”.
For now, however, he said that global public conversation is the “best and most relevant” solution.
“Everything we learn at this time will improve our effort and propel us to be what we are: a humanity working together.”
Trump addressed social media censorship on Wednesday in his first video message after the House impeached him on a charge of inciting insurrection for “deliberately inciting violence against the United States government” on January 6.
After condemning last week’s riots on Capitol Hill – without taking any incitement for which he was accused – Mr Trump spoke about the “unprecedented attack on freedom of expression that we have seen in the past few days.”
Shortly after the riots, Twitter permanently suspended Mr. Trump’s personal account, and Facebook suspended his account for the rest of his presidency. On Tuesday, Youtube temporarily banned Mr. Trump from uploading new content.
Meanwhile, “freedom of expression” platform Parler it was suspended from the Apple and Google app stores and eventually ended by Amazon Web Services for not moderating the content that incited the violence. Several posts showed Trump supporters calling on others to join a “million militia march” on January 20, and for “patriots” to take their weapons to Washington.
Many individuals called for a second civil war because Trump lost the election.
“These are tense and difficult times. Efforts to censor, cancel and blacklist our fellow citizens are wrong and dangerous,” said Trump in the video, posted on the White House’s Twitter account. “What is needed now is to listen to each other, not to silence each other. We can all choose, through our actions, to rise above the rank and find common ground and a shared purpose.”