Twitter's local rival Koo gains; downloads, use rise 5x in 3 days

A day after microblogging platform Twitter’s run-in with the Indian government and the Delhi police, which was marked by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issuing a rebuttal to the company on its Indian rival platform Koo, Mayank Bidawataka, cofounder of Koo, told ET that downloads of the app and engagement on the platform are up by about five times.

He said traction has been going up on the platform for the past three days.

Global social media platforms have been facing the heat from the government for not complying with the social media intermediary guidelines deadline which was May 26.


The developments over the past few days have led to Twitter stating it will strive to comply with the guidelines but that it will continue to be ‘guided’ by principles of transparency and protecting freedom of expression and privacy under the rule of law. Facebook’s messaging app WhatsApp has taken the government to court calling the traceability provision ‘unconstitutional.’

Facebook has said that it aims to comply with India’s new social intermediary guidelines and continues to discuss “a few” of the issues which need more engagement with the government.

"We followed the guidelines way before the deadline. If we were in a position where we couldn’t follow these within a timeline, we would definitely have a dialogue with the government and intimate the need for an extension beforehand," Bidawataka said. According to Bidawataka, not adhering to the guidelines and not proactively communicating this doesn't send the 'right signal' to the users or the ministry that created these guidelines.

Following Twitter's statement on Thursday, MeitY issued a response, accusing Twitter of undermining India's legal system and calling its statement an attempt to dictate its terms to the world's largest democracy.

"Protecting free speech in India is not the prerogative of only a private, for-profit, foreign entity like Twitter but it is the commitment of the world’s largest democracy and its robust institutions," MeitY said.

Bidawataka said many users are looking for alternative platforms to 'speak their mind' given how things are going with other platforms right now.

"Platforms need to act like enablers and not judge the content from their own point of view. If users feel targeted by a platform because of its biased approach, it can be a breach of trust and a fundamental disconnect," he said.

Earlier this week, Koo raised $ 30 million in a Series B funding led by Tiger Global. Existing investors such as Accel Partners, Kalaari Capital, Blume Ventures and Dream Incubator also participated in the round. IIFL and Mirae Assets are other new investors that have come on board.

“We believe that it’s important to follow the laws of the land and use them as a guiding principle to decide what’s accepted and what’s not. The intermediary guidelines keep the user at the centre and outlines ways in which their rights can be protected. These guidelines are very helpful for users and align with our philosophy of doing what’s best for them,” Bidawataka added.