Jack Dorsey is at it again. The Twitter co-founder shared another rambling tweetstormin which he reflected on Twitter’s shortcomings, user trust, and whether or not the platform should permanently ban users.
The comments follow a tumultuous week for Twitter, which has faced uncertainty over what will happen to its platform with Elon Musk at the helm. But if people were hoping Dorsey could bring some clarity to the discussion, they’ll likely be disappointed.
“Every decision we made was ultimately my responsibility,” he said. “In the cases where we were wrong or went too far, we admitted it and worked to correct it.”
The comments may have been an indirect reference to Elon Musk’s previous tweets targeting a senior Twitter politician, but he didn’t directly address the situation. Instead, he shared some vague thoughts on what Twitter should do to fix itself.
“Some things can be fixed immediately, others require a rethink and re-implementation of the entire system,” he said. “A transparent system, both in politics and in business, is the right way to gain trust. Whether it’s corporate or open protocol doesn’t matter, nor does the conscious decision to speak openly about every decision and the reasons why.”
Dorsey also seemed frustrated by what current CEO Parag Agrawal has called it “Noise” about what is happening to the company. “Doing this work means you’re in the arena,” Dorsey tweeted. “Nothing said now counts. What matters is how the service works and acts and how quickly it learns and improves. My biggest mistake was that speed part. I am confident that at least this part will be addressed and fixed.”
Dorsey added that it is “crazy and wrong” for “individuals or corporations to have this responsibility,” in an apparent reference to past unpopular decisions. “I don’t think a permanent ban (except for illegal activities) is right or should be possible. Because of this, we need a protocol that is resilient to the layers above it.”
Musk’s acquisition has rocked Twitter, a company whose own executives have told employees they are unsure of the direction Musk is taking the platform. Musk, who said he has “no confidence” in the company’s current leadership, has suggested he would drastically reduce the company’s existing content moderation policies and possibly its staff.
Whether Musk has Dorsey’s support has been a major source of speculation. Dorsey said earlier this week that “Elon is the unique solution that I trust,” and said its buyout gets the company out of an “impossible” situation where it’s locked into an ad-based revenue model. According to the Wall Street Journal, both Dorsey and former Facebook board member Peter Thiel are said to have encouraged Musk to keep Twitter private.
Musk reportedly floated the idea of hiring organizations to embed tweets on other websites and expanding Twitter’s subscription product, Twitter Blue. He is also reportedly looking to replace Agrawal with an executive of his choosing, Reuters reported on Friday.
Dorsey’s comments are also notable for what he didn’t say. He didn’t mention Musk by name and didn’t defend Twitter employees, although he said, “The company has always tried to do their best given the information they have.”
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