SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 14, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Twitter chief Jack Dorsey backed
the messaging platform’s ban of US President Donald Trump, but said Wednesday
it sets a “dangerous” precedent and represents a failure to promote healthy
conversation on the social network.
“Having to ban an account has real and significant ramifications,” Dorsey
said in a string of tweets inviting feedback from users.
“While there are clear and obvious exceptions, I feel a ban is a failure
of ours ultimately to promote healthy conversation.”
Trump’s access to social media platforms he has used as a megaphone during
his presidency has been largely cut off since a violent mob of his supporters
stormed the Capitol in Washington last week.
Operators say the embittered leader could use his accounts to foment more
unrest in the run-up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Late last week Twitter shut down Trump’s account, booting him from the
global platform he has fervently used throughout his term in office to make
proclamations, accusations and spread misinformation.
Twitter’s decision to permanently suspend Trump is considered overdue by
critics who argue he has gotten away with abuses, but has inflamed members of
the far right who say it stifles free speech.
Twitter said in a blog post explaining its decision that after close
review of the president’s recent tweets it had “permanently suspended the
account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”
Twitter also blocked efforts by Trump to sidestep the ban when he posted
tweets from the official presidential account @POTUS and the @TeamTrump
campaign account.
“We understand the desire to permanently suspend him now,” ACLU senior
legislative counsel Kate Ruane said at the time.
“But, it should concern everyone when companies like Facebook and Twitter
wield the unchecked power to remove people from platforms that have become
indispensable for the speech of billions.”
Dorsey said Wednesday that while he believes Twitter made the right
decision to ban Trump, it “sets a precedent I feel is dangerous: the power an
individual or corporation has over a part of the global public conversation.”
“Having to take these actions fragment the public conversation,” Dorsey
said.
“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.”
Twitter is far from the only major platform to oust Trump, with bans also
in effect by Facebook plus Snapchat, and YouTube temporarily suspending his
channel.
Dorsey rejected the notion that social media giants coordinated these
efforts, reasoning that it was more likely they each came to the same
conclusion about the potential for violence.