Jack Dorsey mused in a long Twitter thread Wednesday over one question: Was the social media network's banning of President Trump the right move? Ultimately, the Twitter CEO says that it was, because "offline harm as a result of online speech is demonstrably real," and there were safety threats to consider. Even so, Dorsey acknowledges the ban also represents "a failure of ours ultimately to promote healthy conversation," and offers "a time for us to reflect on our operations and the environment around us." He adds, "Having to take these actions fragment the public conversation. They divide us. They limit the potential for clarification, redemption, and learning. And sets a precedent I feel is dangerous: the power an individual or corporation has over a part of the global public conversation." (Take a look at other sites that have taken similar actions here and here.)
When one site bans a person, typically they are still able to participate in that conversation via other sites. Not so this time: "A number of foundational internet tool providers also decided not to host what they found dangerous," Dorsey tweets. "I do not believe this was coordinated. More likely: companies came to their own conclusions or were emboldened by the actions of others." While this was likely the right move for this moment in time, he warns against allowing it to become the norm. "Over the long term it will be destructive to the noble purpose and ideals of the open internet," he writes. "A company making a business decision to moderate itself is different from a government removing access, yet can feel much the same." Snapchat became the latest site to permanently ban Trump Wednesday, CNN reports, after having initially suspended him. (More Twitter stories.)
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