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Reflecting free speech … Twitter's Tony Wang said the blogging site tries to remain neutral. Photograph: Iain Masterton/Alamy
Reflecting free speech … Twitter's Tony Wang said the blogging site tries to remain neutral. Photograph: Iain Masterton/Alamy

Twitter's Tony Wang: 'We are the free speech wing of the free speech party'

This article is more than 12 years old
Social networking site's general manager says it takes a neutral view on posted messages

The general manager of Twitter in the UK has said that the social network sees itself as "the free speech wing of the free speech party".

Speaking at the Guardian Changing Media Summit on Thursday, Tony Wang said that Twitter takes a "neutral" view of messages posted by its users because of the company's founding principles.

He was asked whether Twitter sidesteps legal issues, including privacy and libel, because it is not a mainstream media company.

"There are Twitter rules about what you can and can't do on the platform," Wang told the conference in London.

"Generally, we remain neutral as to the content because our general council and CEO like to say that we are the free speech wing of the free speech party."

Twitter found itself at the heart of a legal row in the UK last year after thousands of its users acted in defiance of the high court by tweeting the details of privacy injunctions obtained by a number of public figures. That led the lord chief justice, Lord Judge, to describe modern technology as "completely out of control".

The San Francisco-based social network, which has 140 million active users, has since said that it will reactively withhold tweets in certain countries if faced with a legal request.

Wang said on Thursday that Twitter was changing the way people consume media and was "bringing users closer to the action".

He highlighted examples where Twitter has been used in the world of sport, politics, news and entertainment and said he was "extremely excited" about its potential appeal to advertisers in the UK. Twitter has 3,000 advertisers across the globe and about 70 partners in the UK, he said.

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