FT: And the final question, and this is really the toupe’d elephant in the room. Are you planning to let Donald Trump back on?
EM: I think there’s a general question of truth. There’s a general question around this: should Twitter have permanent bans. And, you know, I’ve talked with Jack Dorsey about this and he and I are of the same mind, which is that permanent bans should be extremely rare and really reserved for people where they’re trying for accounts that are bots or spam, scam accounts, where there is just no legitimacy to the account at all. I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump. I do think that was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice. He is now going to be on Truth Social as will a large part of the right in the United States. So I think this could end up being frankly worse than a single forum where everyone could debate. So I guess the answer is that I would reverse the permaban. I don’t own Twitter yet. So this is not like a thing that will definitely happen because what if I don’t own Twitter? But my opinion and Jack Dorsey, I want to be clear, shares this opinion, is that we should not have events. Now, that doesn’t mean that somebody gets to say whatever they want to say. If they say something that is illegal or otherwise just, you know, just destructive to the world, then that could be a time out or that tweet should be made invisible or have very limited traction. But I think permanent bans just fundamentally undermine trust in Twitter as a town square, where everyone can voice their opinion. It was a foolish decision, I think it was a morally bad decision to be clear, and foolish in the extreme.
FT: Even after he egged on the crowds who went to the US Capitol, some of them carrying nooses. You still think it was a mistake to remove him?
EM: I think that if there are tweets that are wrong, they should be either deleted or made invisible and a suspension or a temporary suspension is appropriate, but not a permanent ban.
FT: So if the deal completes, he might potentially come back on but with the understanding that if he does something similar again, he’ll be back in the sin bin.
EM: He has publicly stated that he will not be coming back to Twitter but will go on Truth Social. And this is the point that I am trying to make, which is perhaps not getting across, banning Trump from Twitter didn’t end Trump’s voice. It will amplify it among the right, and this is why it is morally wrong and flat out stupid.
