The sudden need and concern for privacy on the micro-blogging site Twitter have led to the commotion around the world. India has imposed IT rules on Twitter, which it has obliged to follow.
Authoritarian governments such as China, Turkey, and lately, Myanmar have long imposed restrictions on Twitter.
Joining the list is Nigeria, where Twitter has been suspended indefinitely on 4th June, two days after the US-based platform erased a message from President Muhammadu Buhari’s account for breaking its rules. Indian social networking startup Koo is mulling a targeted push into the African country.
A golden chance for Indian-Twitter-Koo!
Koo – is a Banglore-based yellow-coloured Twitter clone, founded by Mr Radhakrishna, an Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad grad, and Mayank Bidawatka last year.
What happened?
On 2nd June, Twitter enraged Nigerian officials by deleting a comment on President Buhari’s account for breaking rules after he made a reference to the country’s civil war in a warning about current instability in the southeast.
Nigeria’s information ministry announced two days later that Twitter had been “indefinitely stopped” due to “continuous use of the site for actions that are capable of damaging Nigeria’s corporate existence.”
Leaders on Nigeria Suspending Twitter:
- Russia President Vladimir Putin in the World Economic Forum said US social media giants are now competing with elected governments.
- Ex-US President Donald Trump congratulated Nigeria and said, Nigerians should feel proud of themselves for banning Twitter because their president was also banned. More COUNTRIES should outlaw Twitter and Facebook because they do not enable free and open speech—all voices should be heard. Meanwhile, competitors will arise and seize control.
Nigeria has the highest GDP and largest population among all the African Countries. So, obviously, Twitter will be affected by the ban.
Twitter has expressed its concern about being blocked from Nigeria, saying, Access to Free Internet is everyone’s right in modern society.