Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Twitter

Jack Dorsey's Exit From Twitter Could Worsen Tech Censorship

The site's long-serving boss might be more committed to free speech than his successor, Parag Agrawal.

Robby Soave | 11.29.2021 1:18 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests
polspphotos778837 | CNP / Polaris/Newscom
(CNP / Polaris/Newscom)

Jack Dorsey has resigned as CEO of Twitter, having served in various leadership roles at the company since its inception in 2007.

"I've decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders," he explained in a statement.

While Facebook has attracted significantly more attention in recent months, due to widespread concerns—some of them overblown—that the site spreads hate and misinformation and is making teenagers depressed, Twitter is the preferred site of the media and political classes. The virtual blue bird's nest may have significantly fewer users than Facebook (300 million versus 2 billion), but its importance to policymakers means that it plays a larger-than-merited role in political discussion. If a change in leadership leads to significant internal policy changes, this could have an outsized effect on the news media.

Anyone who harbors concerns that social media have already grown too intolerant of dissenting opinions—too inclined to silence viewpoints that depart from liberal orthodoxy—should be worried about Dorsey leaving. That's because the long-serving CEO has occasionally articulated an ideological commitment to the principles of free speech; of all the tech industry pioneers who have been hauled before Congress to answer absurd questions, he was by far the most hostile to the idea that the government should serve as the internet's speech police.

While Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has come out in support of tweaking Section 230, a change that could give Congress more power over content moderation policies, Twitter has remained defiantly opposed to increased regulation. When I interviewed Lauren Culbertson, Twitter's head of U.S. public policy, for my book Tech Panic, she warned that chipping away at Section 230 could "entrench incumbents" and "stifle innovation and competition." When activists sued Twitter, demanding that the site remove then-President Donald Trump's account, Twitter refused, citing Section 230. Trump may now be gone from Twitter—having finally behaved in a way that manifestly violated the site's policies—but without both the protections of Section 230 and Dorsey's support for free speech, the site might have acted much earlier and in much more heavy-handed fashion. (Undoubtedly, there are many Democratic politicians and progressive media figures who wish that it had.)

Twitter's board has unanimously approved Parag Agrawal, the company's current chief technical officer, as the new CEO. Agrawal's main project at Twitter has been Bluesky, an initiative designed to create "an open and decentralized standard for social media that would help better control abusive and misleading information on its platform." In an interview a year ago, Agrawal commented that he thought Twitter should "focus less on thinking about free speech."

"Our role is not to be bound by the First Amendment, but our role is to serve a healthy public conversation and our moves are reflective of things that we believe lead to a healthier public conversation," he said. "The kinds of things that we do about this is, focus less on thinking about free speech, but thinking about how the times have changed."

Agrawal is correct, of course, that Twitter is not bound by the First Amendment; as a private company, it can make whatever moderation decisions it wants. But under Dorsey's leadership, Twitter has been a place for wide-ranging conversation on topics of political importance, despite some undeniably questionable moderation decisions. Dorsey has resisted pressure from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers to bring the company more in line with their views. Whether Agrawal will do the same remains to be seen.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: The U.S. Imposes Travel Restrictions in Response to New COVID-19 Variant. Again.

Robby Soave is a senior editor at Reason.

TwitterCensorshipFree SpeechSocial Media
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (284)

Latest

Don't Let Rights-Violating Federal Agents Dodge Accountability

Damon Root | 6.17.2025 7:00 AM

McCarthyism, Past—and Present?

Brandan P. Buck | From the July 2025 issue

If Brendan Carr Cares About Free Speech, He Should Make These Changes at the FCC

Robert Corn-Revere | From the July 2025 issue

Brickbat: Border Bills

Charles Oliver | 6.17.2025 4:00 AM

Las Vegas Police Arrest TikTok Livestreamers and Tell Them 'You Should've Shut Your Mouth'

C.J. Ciaramella | 6.16.2025 5:41 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2024 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

r

Do you care about free minds and free markets? Sign up to get the biggest stories from Reason in your inbox every afternoon.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

This modal will close in 10

Reason Plus

Special Offer!

  • Full digital edition access
  • No ads
  • Commenting privileges

Just $25 per year

Join Today!