Nigerian govt joins Koo after Ban following the Twitter ban

Nigerian govt joins Koo after Ban following the Twitter ban

Less than a week after banning Twitter, the Nigerian government has joined Koo. What does this mean for the India-made rival microblogging website?

The government of Nigeria has created its official account on the Indian microblogging platform Koo, co-founder, and chief executive Aprameya Radhakrishna said on Thursday.

Less than a week after banning American microblogging site Twitter indefinitely, the Nigerian government has joined its India-made rival, Koo. Shortly after the ban, Koo had announced that it was available in Nigeria and was working to add local languages on its platform.

Nigeria’s decision to suspend Twitter in the country reportedly came as a result of the US-based social networking platform deleting a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari for violating rules. The Nigerian government had alleged that the microblogging site was being used to undermine “Nigeria’s corporate existence” through the spreading of fake news that has “violent consequences”.

 In a statement, Twitter had said: “We are deeply concerned by the blocking of Twitter in Nigeria. Access to the free and #OpenInternet is an essential human right in modern society. We will work to restore access for all those in Nigeria who rely on Twitter to communicate and connect with the world.”

However, former US President Donald Trump, whose account has been suspended by Twitter, congratulated Nigeria for banning Twitter and said more countries should do so.

The Nigerian government on Thursday created its account on Indian microblogging platform Koo days after the African country banned Twitter. Koo co-founder Aprameya Radhakrishna welcomed the government onboard the platform. “A very warm welcome to the official handle of the Government of Nigeria on @kooindia! Spreading wings beyond India now,” he said on Thursday.

Nigeria on June 5 banned Twitter after the social media company deleted President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet threatening to punish secessionists. He referred to the 1967-70 Nigerian Civil War and to treating “those misbehaving today” in “the language they will understand”.

The Indian alternative to Twitter, Koo, took up the opportunity and announced its plans to expand into the African country. “@kooindia is available in Nigeria. We’re thinking of enabling the local languages there too. What say?” Radhakrishna said on Twitter on Saturday.

In India, many Union ministers have joined Koo amid a standoff between Twitter and the government over the new rules for the social media companies and taking down of posts.

Koo was among the first social media firms to announce compliance with the new rules.

Twitter has also assured the government that it is committed to complying with the new guidelines and sought a week’s time to implement most of the changes required, such as hiring a compliance officer.