‘Into the limelight’: Koo, India’s answer to Twitter, goes past 10 mn users

Koo, India’s different to Twitter Inc., has surged past 10 million buyers to slim the hole with the US microblogging web-site following its repeated clashes with the local govt in excess of the past few months.

The sixteen-thirty day period-outdated app, which makes it possible for buyers to deliver tweet-like posts in English and 7 Indian languages this kind of as Hindi and Kannada, has observed about 85% of its buyers join due to the fact February, when Twitter’s disputes with the Modi administration escalated. Govt ministers, opposition politicians, cricket stars and Bollywood celebs have due to the fact started putting up in Indian languages on Koo.

Its San Francisco rival, which experienced 17.5 million monthly buyers previously this 12 months in India, complied with the new govt principles this thirty day period following appointing new India-centered executives, together with one particular to handle compliance.

“We came into the limelight mainly because of Twitter’s tension with the govt, but buyers quickly understood they can categorical in their mother tongue only on Koo,” said Aprameya Radhakrishna, co-founder and main government officer of the Bangalore-headquartered app whose official names is Bombinate Systems Pvt. “Our app connects English-speaking India to non-English speaking India in a place with seven-hundred million world wide web buyers and that is powerful.”

The American social media community has continuously clashed with India’s govt in excess of the information on its platform. In one particular case in point, Twitter at initial resisted taking away hundreds of posts critical of Primary Minister Narendra Modi government’s dealing with of the Covid-19 crisis, although labeling posts by ruling get together officers as deceptive. Law enforcement then frequented its places of work. An India court ruled the enterprise was in “overall non-compliance” with the country’s new data technology principles.

Earlier this thirty day period, Twitter buckled and told the court that it will absolutely comply with the principles. That bundled naming an India-centered point man or woman for dealing with compliance and grievance troubles.

Tussles involving authorities and a further social media huge, Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp, in excess of India’s new world wide web principles continue in the court.

Koo, which has benefited from the controversies and from initial-time world wide web buyers who submit in local languages, is targeting one hundred million buyers in a 12 months, Radhakrishna said. The startup ideas to broaden in Southeast Asia, Africa, South America and Jap Europe, into international locations exactly where English is not the dominant language.

“An Indian social media startup is using on a world wide huge and has a quite fantastic prospect of successful,” he said.

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