Former Twitter CEO Under Fire For 2018 Congressional Testimony
A series of bombshell revelations about Twitter have surfaced in recent days on the social media platform itself as CEO Elon Musk released internal documents originating under the company’s prior management.
The so-called “Twitter Files” have exposed a range of controversial decisions, from banning accounts to censoring topics for political reasons.
In light of the latest evidence, the 2018 congressional testimony of then-CEO Jack Dorsey is coming under renewed scrutiny.
Appearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee at the time, Dorsey denied that the platform’s algorithm was “rigged to censor conservatives.”
He went on to claim that Twitter did not censor any users or engage in “shadow-banning prominent Republicans.”
As independent journalist Bari Weiss explained in a Twitter thread earlier this week, however, a “secret group” of Twitter executives — including Dorsey — set out to do exactly that.
She wrote that it was in this forum that “the biggest, most politically sensitive decisions got made.”
Even without direct involvement in such decisions, Dorsey heard directly from conservative users who mentioned him in tweets demanding to know why their reach had been throttled.
Given the apparent inaccuracies in Dorsey’s testimony, some experts believe he could face criminal penalties.
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, for example, said that the former CEO “has vulnerability” now that the recently released files prove that Twitter officials did engage in censorship and shadow-banning.”
Of course, Turley noted that the Biden administration’s Department of Justice might be reluctant to prosecute Dorsey or any other Twitter executives since the agency “has been repeatedly accused of pronounced political bias.”
