Jack Dorsey, a tweet from April 2009

Twitter succeeds when it’s not talked about so much, blurs into the background, & is used as a utility. Like electricity.

Can an electrical company cut off electricity to a customer whose views it does not share? No, it cannot. Twitter was created and has marketed itself as a telecommunication utility, so it should be treated as one. This is called common carrier in telecommunication. Before 2016, it even acted like one. More quotes (emphasis is mine everywhere):

Twitter’s statement in July 2017, in defense of Obamanet:

Free expression is part of our company DNA. We are the platform that lets users see what’s happening and to see all sides.

Evan Williams, Twitter CEO, 2009, TED Talk:

One of my favorites is what happened a few months ago when there was a gas shortage in Atlanta. Some users figured out that they would Twitter when they found gas — where it was, and how much it cost — and then appended the keyword “#atlgas” which let other people search for that and find gas themselves. And this trend of people using this communication network to help each other out goes far beyond the original idea of just keeping up with family and friends. Continue reading Twitter is Communication Network →