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Twitter boss, Dorsey, speaks on ban on Trump’s account
The Chief Executive of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, on Wednesday said that banning Donald Trump from the platform was the “right decision”.
Speaking out for the first time via a thread of tweets on his official Twitter account, since the social network took the remarkable step of permanently suspending the president’s account following a violent attack on the US Capitol, Dorsey said “the company faced an extraordinary and untenable circumstance, forcing us to focus all of our actions on public safety.”
The thread read in part: “I do not celebrate or feel pride in our having to ban @realDonaldTrump from Twitter, or how we got here. But after a clear warning, we had to take this action. We made a decision with the best information we had based on threats to physical safety both on and off Twitter.
“I believe this was the right decision for Twitter. 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.
Read also: Trump declares war on social media firms over censorship of conservatives
“Having to take these actions disintegrates public conversations and they divide us. They also limit the potential for clarification, learning and sets a yardstick I feel is dangerous.”
Ripples Nigeria had reported last week that Twitter permanently suspended Trump’s account, who was impeached for the second time on Wednesday for inciting a mob of his supporters, due to “the risk of further incitement of violence.”
Other big tech companies had also suspended Trump’s accounts temporarily and in some cases permanently over the attack. The companies included; Facebook, Reddit, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube.
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
By Emmanuella Ibe…
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