Ex-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Defends Selling Company to Elon Musk: It’s a ‘New Reset’
Ancient Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey called recent online attacks about his “dangerous” former employees while taking the blame for the controversial content decisions the company made under his leadership.
Dorsey wrote in a blog post On Tuesday, Twitter finally had too much power to make content decisions under its direction. Users should have had more control over what they see online, and Twitter has failed to build tools to deal with that, he said. Dorsey added that he had “completely given up advocating” those ideas after an activist investor came forward in early 2020.
“I no longer had any hope of achieving this as a public company without defense mechanisms (lack of dual-class actions being a key),” he said. “I planned my exit at that time knowing that I was no longer good for the company.”
Twitter has drawn attention over the past week following the release of internal communications about moderation decisions, including the banning of former President Donald Trump. The documents, dubbed by new owner Elon Musk the “Twitter Files”, were published by journalists the billionaire introduced to Twitter and gave what he called “unfettered” access.
People upset with the decisions targeted Twitter employees who were involved.
“The current attacks on my former colleagues could be dangerous and won’t solve anything,” Dorsey said. “If you want blame, point it at me and my actions, or lack thereof.”
Dorsey defended selling Twitter to Musk, saying taking the company private gave him the chance for a “new reset.”
Our new weekly newsletter Impact Report examines how ESG news and trends are shaping the roles and responsibilities of today’s leaders. Subscribe here.
