Twitter chief defends not booting Infowars

Twitter chief Jack Dorsey defended today his company's decision to allow far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to use the platform to spread his message, saying he hasn't broken user rules.

Apple, Facebook, Spotify and YouTube have all banned Jones, who runs the website Infowars.

"We're going to hold Jones to the same standard we hold to every account, not taking one-off actions to make us feel good in the short term, and adding fuel to new conspiracy theories," Dorsey said in a tweet.

"We know that's hard for many, but the reason is simple: he hasn't violated our rules. We'll enforce if he does." In a series of tweets on the subject, Dorsey said Twitter reasoned that it was journalists' job to shine the light of truth on unsubstantiated rumours or sensationalised issues.

"If we succumb and simply react to outside pressure, rather than straightforward principles we enforce (and evolve) impartially regardless of political viewpoints, we become a service that's constructed by our personal views that can swing in any direction," Dorsey tweeted.

"That's not us."