Twitter on Friday announced that it will not block world leaders or remove their controversial tweets.
The post did not mention President Donald Trump by name, but the announcement was likely prompted by concern about Trump’s social media habits. The President recently bragged about the size of his nuclear button on Twitter and has retweeted posts from a British far-right leader who was later suspended by Twitter.
“There’s been a lot of discussion about political figures and world leaders on Twitter, and we want to share our stance,” Twitter said in a statement on Friday. “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,” the company added.