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Jack Dorsey Speaks On Donald Trump Twitter Ban

By Modupeoluwa Adekanye

14 January 2021   |   12:51 pm

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On Saturday, January 9, the president of the United State of America, Donald Trump, was banned from using Twitter after violating some Twitter rules. However, Jack Dorsey in some series of tweets has expressed sadness at what he described as the "extraordinary and untenable circumstances" surrounding Trump's permanent suspension. He wrote: I do not celebrate…

Jack Speaks On Donald Trump Twitter Ban

On Saturday, January 9, the president of the United State of America, Donald Trump, was banned from using Twitter after violating some Twitter rules.

However, Jack Dorsey in some series of tweets has expressed sadness at what he described as the “extraordinary and untenable circumstances” surrounding Trump’s permanent suspension. He wrote:

I do not celebrate or feel pride in our having to ban @realDonaldTrump from Twitter, or how we got here. 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. Was this correct?

He further went on to explain the reasons for his actions. He explains that they are meant to ensure public safety and that the removal of Trump was after many warnings to him.

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.

Again, he takes responsibility for the ban as he states that the ban shows a failure on their part. A failure to “ultimately promote healthy conversation.”

He also addressed criticism that just a handful of tech bosses can make decisions on who does and doesn’t have a voice on the internet, and on accusations of censorship.

A company making a business decision to moderate itself is different from a government removing access, yet can feel much the same.

The decision to ban Trump from Twitter was taken happily by some while some criticised Jack for making such a decision. Jack, however, stated that there are other social media apps that can be used apart from Twitter.

The check and accountability on this power has always been the fact that a service like Twitter is one small part of the larger public conversation happening across the internet. If folks do not agree with our rules and enforcement, they can simply go to another internet service.

Going further in the Twitter thread, he says that there are plans to “open decentralized standard for social media.” He wrote:

We are trying to do our part by funding an initiative around an open decentralized standard for social media. Our goal is to be a client of that standard for the public conversation layer of the internet. We call it @bluesky. It’s important that we acknowledge this is a time of great uncertainty and struggle for so many around the world. Our goal in this moment is to disarm as much as we can and ensure we are all building towards a greater common understanding, and a more peaceful existence on earth.

Apart from Twitter, Trump was also suspended from using other social media platforms such as Snapchat, Google, Youtube, and lots more.

Read the thread below:

I do not celebrate or feel pride in our having to ban @realDonaldTrump from Twitter, or how we got here. 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. Was this correct?

— jack (@jack) January 14, 2021