Twitter logo is displayed on a mobile phone with President Trump’s
Twitter page shown in the background on May 27, 2020, in Arlington,
Virginia. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP)
Twitter chief Jack Dorsey on Wednesday backed the
messaging platform’s ban of US President Donald Trump but said it
sets a “dangerous” precedent and represents a failure to promote
healthy conversation on social networks.
“Having to ban an account has real and significant
ramifications,” Dorsey said in a string of tweets about his take on
the company’s decision late last week to permanently bar the
president.
“While there are clear and obvious exceptions, I feel a ban is a
failure of ours ultimately to promote healthy conversation,” Dorsey
said, inviting feedback from users.
Trump’s access to social media platforms that he 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.
In addition to Twitter, bans have also been put in place by
Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, and Snapchat, while YouTube
temporarily suspended his channel.
However, Twitter was the Republican billionaire’s go-to tool,
which he used to directly communicate on a daily basis with some 88
million followers, posting everything from proclamations to
accusations and spreading misinformation via the platform.
Social media operators say the embittered leader could have used
his accounts to foment more unrest in the run-up to President-elect
Joe Biden’s inauguration.
On Monday, Twitter took things one step further, announcing it
had also suspended “more than 70,000 accounts” linked to the
far-right QAnon conspiracy theory that claims Trump is waging a
secret war against a global liberal cult of Satan-worshipping
pedophiles.
Overdue or overdone?
Twitter’s decision to permanently suspend Trump is considered
overdue by critics who argue he has gotten away with abuses but has
worried free-speech advocates and drawn criticism from various NGOs
and leaders.
The company 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 of his
@realDonaldTrump account when he posted tweets from the official
presidential account @POTUS and the @TeamTrump campaign
account.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
“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.”
Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel weighed in, stating Monday
through her spokesman that she believed freedom of opinion should
not be determined by “the management of social media
platforms.”
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.”
“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,” he said.
Dorsey rejected the notion that social media giants coordinated
efforts, reasoning that it was more likely they each came to the
same conclusion about the potential for violence.
Snipped by Snapchat
Image-centric social network Snapchat on Wednesday became the
latest platform to permanently ban Trump.
“Last week we announced an indefinite suspension of president
Trump’s Snapchat account,” the platform told AFP.
“In the interest of public safety, and based on his attempts to
spread misinformation, hate speech, and incite violence, which are
clear violations of our guidelines, we have made the decision to
permanently terminate his account.”
The actions by social media companies angered ardent defenders
of Trump, who was impeached by the House of Representatives on
Wednesday for inciting “insurrection.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a longtime Trump ally,
demanded that major tech platforms explain why Trump is no longer
welcome.
Removal of the president and others by multiple platforms, he
said, “silences those whose speech and political beliefs do not
align with leaders of Big Tech companies.”
AFP
Read more https://swordpress.com.ng/2021/01/14/twitters-jack-dorsey-says-trump-ban-sets-dangerous-precedent/