SAN FRANCISCO — For more than a year, Twitter has faced censure for allowing President Trump to use its service to say whatever he wants. And for more than a year, the company has not addressed the criticism definitively.

On Friday, the company tackled the matter head on. Without ever mentioning Mr. Trump by name, Twitter said in a statement that he would remain on the social media service.

“Elected world leaders play a critical role in that conversation because of their outsized impact on our society,” Twitter said in the statement, which was posted to its site. “Blocking a world leader from Twitter or removing their controversial tweets would hide important information people should be able to see and debate.”