Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, has stepped down from the board of Bluesky, a social networking service he helped fund and popularize. This decision comes after Dorsey expressed regret over the sale of Twitter to Elon Musk. In a post on X, Dorsey announced new philanthropic grants for open internet protocols, which he referred to as “freedom technology.” He also mentioned that corporations can build upon open protocols as well.
Dorsey’s shift in following suggests an improvement in relations between him and Musk. Currently, on X, Dorsey only follows three people: Musk, Edward Snowden, and Stella Assange. Previously, Dorsey had criticized Musk’s takeover and transformation of Twitter. However, his tweet on X encouraged people to not rely on corporations for their rights but to defend them using “freedom technology.”
Bluesky was created as a network and protocol in line with Dorsey’s vision for Twitter as a service without centralized control. It was made available to all interested users in February and gained attention for providing an alternative to Twitter after Musk’s acquisition. However, Bluesky has since been overshadowed by the launch of Meta Platforms Inc.’s Threads as the most viable alternative. In response to a question on X about his status on the Bluesky board, Dorsey responded with a “no.”