Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies remotely at the Senate Trade, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing, “ Does Section 230’s Sweeping Immunity Enable Big Tech Bad Behavior, ” on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, Oct. 28, 2020.
Greg Nash | Swimming pool | Reuters
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said on Wednesday that banning President Donald Trump was “the right decision for Twitter,” but admitted that the Internet should not be controlled by a handful of private companies.
In a series of 13 tweets, Dorsey said that online speech that leads to real harm requires action even when an account ban is divisive “and sets a precedent that I think is dangerous.” He wrote that if a company like Twitter makes a decision that people don’t like, they can go elsewhere, creating an inherent control over its power.
However, the blanket ban on Trump following the Capitol riot has given rise to concern.
“This concept was challenged last week when a number of basic ISPs also decided not to host what they considered dangerous,” Dorsey wrote. “I don’t believe this was coordinated. More likely, companies came to their own conclusions or were encouraged by the actions of others.”
Twitter and Facebook deleted Trump’s account after last week’s violence in the Capitol, prompted by the president and his comments on social media. YouTube followed on Tuesday, removing Trump’s last major online channel reaching his tens of millions of followers.
Meanwhile, the Parler app, which is largely used by conservatives, has been banned by Apple and Google due to violent content and poor moderation controls. Amazon Web Services also took away access from Parler.
Dorsey said the inconsistent policies and lack of transparency are undermining efforts to create an open Internet.
“The reason why I have so much passion for it #Bitcoin is due in large part to the model it demonstrates: a fundamental Internet technology that is not controlled or influenced by any single individual or entity, “Dorsey wrote.” This is what the internet wants to be, and will become more of it over time. “
He was referring to a late 2019 announcement, when Twitter said it was funding a small team called Bluesky to come up with “an open decentralized social media standard.” He said the project is now hiring people and “will do the job entirely through public transparency.”
WATCH: Twitter without Trump