Jack Dorsey says banning Trump was a 'business decision' and agrees with Elon Musk that no one should be permanently banned from Twitter

• Musk is set to buy Twitter and said he would reinstate Trump's account if the deal closes.
• Twitter founder Jack Dorsey said he agrees with Musk that permanent Twitter bans are a "failure."

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey weighed in on the side of Elon Musk after the Tesla CEO said Twitter's decision to permanently ban Donald Trump was "morally wrong and flat out stupid."

Musk is set to acquire Twitter for $44 billion, pending shareholder and regulatory approval. On Tuesday, Musk confirmed he would reinstate Trump's account should the deal successfully close.

Musk said during a live interview that he had spoken to Dorsey about permanent bans on Twitter. "He and I are of the same mind that permanent bans should be extremely rare and really reserved for accounts that are bots or spam scam accounts," said Musk.

Complimentary Tech Event

Transform talent with learning that works

Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

Dorsey confirmed his agreement with Musk in a tweet. "There are exceptions (CSE [child sexual exploitation], illegal behaviour, spam or network manipulation, etc), but generally permanent bans are a failure of ours and don't work," he said.

Dorsey referred back to a thread he posted in January 2021 following Trump's ban, when Dorsey was CEO.

Axios reporter Dan Primack challenged Dorsey in a tweet, as in Dorsey's 2021 thread the then-Twitter CEO said banning Trump was "the right thing" although the circumstances were regrettable.

—jack⚡️ (@jack) May 10, 2022

Dorsey replied to Primack: "It was a business decision, it shouldn't have been."

"We should always revisit our decisions and evolve as necessary. I stated in that thread and still believe that permanent bans of individuals are directionally wrong," Dorsey added.

He stopped short of saying Trump's account should be reinstated.

In separate tweets, Dorsey said that by "business decision" he meant that a business made the decision.

—jack⚡️ (@jack) May 10, 2022

"We made the decision based on the information we had and what we thought best. Impossible situation," Dorsey tweeted.

"I'm saying a corporation should not have to make this decision in the first place. Not for something as important as public conversation," he added.

Dorsey has previously expressed support for Musk's takeover of Twitter, saying Musk is the "singular solution" to lead the company.

Trump's Twitter account was permanently suspended after he published a video addressing rioters who stormed the US Capitol building in January 2021. In the video, Trump said "go home. We love you; you're very special."

The company said it had suspended Trump's account "due to the risk of further incitement of violence."

Trump in February launched his own social media app, Truth Social, which bears a striking resemblance to Twitter. Trump has said he will not return to Twitter if Musk reinstates his account.