Jack Dorsey voices concerns over Bluesky 'repeating Twitter's mistakes'
What's the story
Former Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, recently criticized Bluesky, a service he helped launch. In an interview with Mike Solana of Founders Fund, Dorsey revealed his reasons for leaving the board and deleting his account on Bluesky. He stated that Bluesky was "literally repeating all the mistakes" he made while running Twitter. His main issues revolve around the company's independence and its deviation from his original plan.
Unintended direction
Dorsey's concerns over Bluesky's independence
Dorsey never intended for Bluesky to become an independent entity with its own board and stock. The service was spun out of Twitter as a public benefit corporation in 2022. However, Dorsey's original plan was for Twitter to be the first client to utilize the open source protocol created by Bluesky, not for it to stand alone.
Policy disapproval
Dorsey criticizes Bluesky's content moderation policies
Dorsey also took issue with Bluesky's content moderation policies, particularly their occasional banning of users for reasons such as using racial slurs in their usernames. He expressed disappointment that "people started seeing Bluesky as something to run to, away from Twitter," but then began asking for moderation tools and user removals. Dorsey lamented that "unfortunately they followed through with it."
Alternative endorsement
Dorsey supports Nostr, a decentralized Twitter-like service
Dorsey confirmed his financial backing for Nostr, a decentralized service similar to Twitter and popular among crypto enthusiasts. He encouraged those who value censorship resistance and free speech to use technologies like Nostr that uphold these principles. Despite his departure from Twitter, Dorsey still has approximately $1 billion of his personal wealth invested in the company now known as X.
Frazee's defense
Bluesky's protocol engineer responds to Dorsey's criticisms
In response to Dorsey's comments, Bluesky's protocol engineer Paul Frazee defended the company in a lengthy thread. He stated that Twitter was supposed to be the AT Protocol's "first client," but Elon Musk's takeover ended that agreement. Frazee also defended Bluesky's moderation policies, calling unmoderated spaces a "ridiculous idea."
Divergent approaches
Dorsey notes differences in handling government requests
Dorsey highlighted a difference in their approaches to government requests for account removals. He used to resist such requests during his tenure at Twitter, while Musk generally complies. "Elon will fight in the way he fights, and I appreciate that, but he could certainly be compromised," Dorsey said, without directly criticizing Musk's approach.