Dorsey Uses Twitter Like “Private Fiefdom”: Yiannopoulos

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Banned Twitter user Milo Yiannopoulos, technology editor at Breitbart, has accused Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey of using the network as his own “private fiefdom” to promote his own political agenda.

“This utility, which is how Dorsey has always described it and how he’s wanted Twitter to be perceived, has always been run along party lines,” Yiannopoulos said Wednesday on CNBC’s Power Lunch.

Yiannopoulos stands by his views

Yiannopoulos was banned from Twitter on July 19 for conducting and encouraging online harassment against Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones. The controversial journalist stands by his views and maintains that he did nothing wrong. He said that he didn’t like the actress’ movie and does not hold any responsibility for other people’s actions on the network. Yiannopoulos told CNBC that he has officially requested information from Twitter as to why he was banned through the European Union’s laws.

“I want to Twitter to be honest with its users about the reasons for suspensions, bannings and all the punitive actions they take on their platform.”

Twitter has yet to respond, he added.

Yiannopoulos is known for his outspoken conservative views. Previously, different events have banned him for his suppositions that ladies, ethnic minorities and the LGBT community enjoy unfair advantages. He also declared that Twitter is unfair to preservationist and libertarian users.

Twitter will lose the most interesting voices if it continues to block all opposing views and will no longer be what people call the “freedom of expression” platform. The journalist even doubted if investors should support the company as there have been questions about its ability to monetize the platform.

No place for harassment on Twitter

Twitter is for “News and Social commentary,” but it will never be a platform that shows only a partial view of what’s going on, Dorsey said during Twitter’s Tuesday earnings call. Harassment and abuse will never be allowed, the CEO added.

“Abuse is not a part of the civil discourse. It’s shuts down conversation and prevents us from understanding each other. The term Freedom of Expression would mean nothing if we allow voices to be quiet because of fear of harassment, is they speak up,” Dorsey said.

On Tuesday, Twitter reported that it expects third quarter revenues of $590 million to $610 million, which is well below the Thomson Reuters estimate of $678 million. On Wednesday, Twitter closed down 14.53% at $15.77. Year to date, the stock is down more than 29%, while in the last year, it is down more than 55%.

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