Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
- President Donald Trump would be cautioned by Twitter if he wrote certain tweets, according to the company’s head of Europe.
- Trump would be cautioned if he tweeted someone’s personal details, for example.
- Failure to remove a tweet of this nature could result in his account being locked.
The head of Twitter in Europe, Bruce Daisley, said on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump is not above the rules that apply to everyone else using Twitter’s platform.
Daisley, Twitter’s vice president of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, said on The Emma Barnett Show on BBC Radio 5 Live that Trump would be asked to remove certain tweets if they broke the site’s rules. For example, he would be contacted by Twitter moderators if he published someone’s personal details on Twitter, Daisley said.
Twitter’s rules forbid people from tweeting certain things including other people’s personal information. If a Twitter user breaches this rule then Twitter will ask them to remove the tweet in question. Failing to do so can result in them being temporarily locked out of their account.
“If someone tweets private information, if someone tweets someone’s private address, phone number, then they are no-go areas where we don’t permit that. So in those instances, what we often say is we ask for that tweet to be removed,” said Daisley. “So look, were he to do that, just picking a hypothetical example, then you know, those would be areas.”
Daisley’s comments come off the back of a blog post that Twitter published last Friday titled “World Leaders on Twitter”.
When Barnett asked if Trump — probably the most vocal world leader on Twitter — would be asked to remove that tweet, Daisley replied: “We would caution him to remove that tweet.”
Trump’s approach to Twitter is unlike any other president or prime minister. He tweets prolifically (often starting around 4am) about a whole manner of things, causing great offence and making headlines in the process.
In the blog post from last Friday, Twitter wrote:
“There’s been a lot of discussion about political figures and world leaders on Twitter, and we want to share our stance.
Twitter is here to serve and help advance the global, public conversation. Elected world leaders play a critical role in that conversation because of their outsized impact on our society.
Blocking a world leader from Twitter or removing their controversial Tweets would hide important information people should be able to see and debate. It would also not silence that leader, but it would certainly hamper necessary discussion around their words and actions.
We review Tweets by leaders within the political context that defines them, and enforce our rules accordingly. No one person’s account drives Twitter’s growth, or influences these decisions. We work hard to remain unbiased with the public interest in mind.
We are working to make Twitter the best place to see and freely discuss everything that matters. We believe that’s the best way to help our society make progress.”
Daisley admitted some of the content on Twitter isn’t always appropriate but he championed the fact that it allows free speech. “There are times when I read what people say, and I find it deeply unsavoury,” he told Barnett. “But I think the whole point of free speech is defending the right of people to say things you don’t agree with. The best way to challenge free speech is more free speech.”
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