Indian netizens are flocking to Koo, but what does it mean for censorship in the world’s largest democracy? – ABC News
There's a new bird on the block in India, as government ministers try to persuade the nation's 700 million netizens to take up a new microblogging app called 'Koo'.
Known by its yellow bird logo, the app and its bird branding appear to be a not-so-subtle rip off of the US-based social media giant Twitter.
But a tussle between the Indian government and Twitter has fuelled a surge in Koo users and raised questions over censorship and freedom of speech in the world's biggest democracy.
So how did Twitter fall so out of favour and what exactly is Koo?
And could the move to this fledgling online platform also be part of a broader geopolitical strategy to out-manoeuvre one of India's biggest tech rivals, China?
Twitter has become embroiled in one of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's biggest political challenges since he took office.
Widespread protests against new laws that would deregulate some areas of India's agriculture sector have riled government ministers who have said misinformation has fuelled resistance to the reforms.
The Indian government cited the example of Twitter deleting and blocking misinformation during the siege of the US Capitol building to demand similar action be taken against accounts it said were fomenting unrest during last month's protests.
After initially complying, Twitter eventually reinstated many of the removed posts and accounts which included journalists, activists and opposition politicians.
Speaking in Parliament last week, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad warned overseas social media platforms they were only welcome to continue operating in India if they complied with the law.
But Twitter hit back saying it did not believe the directives were consistent with Indian law.
"In keeping with our principles of defending protected speech and freedom of expression, we have not taken any action on accounts that consist of news media entities, journalists, activists, and politicians," it said.
The government also banned TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps last year over security concerns.
Nikhil Pahwa, a digital rights activist and the founder of MediaNama.com, said the government's demands had been shrouded in secrecy and had fallen under a complex area of Indian law.
"Twitter has seemingly violated the government's orders under this law ... but if the matter was to go to court, then it would give us room for transparency around these orders, it would give us an opportunity to scrutinise them," he said.
Unlike when it banned TikTok, the government did not release any statements explaining its decisions on what it was seeking to have censored.
Internet shutdowns and censorship have become part of the Modi government's regular playbook to manage unrest and dissent.
Mr Pahwa said there had been hundreds of shutdowns over the last few years.
"[There have been] the highest number of internet shutdowns in the world [and] some of the longest in the world," he said.
"That is mass censorship."
This latest spat with Twitter is for many another sign that patience for cyber-dissent is wearing thin within some ranks of the Modi government.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers and supporters have wasted no time in leveraging the dispute to try and convince netizens to migrate to Koo.
What makes Koo particularly appealing in a multilingual country such as India is that it is already operating in five languages and plans to introduce 12 more.
It was launched in March last year by a duo of well-known start-up entrepreneurs, who claim to have 3 million downloads and 1 million active users still significantly fewer than Twitter's 17 million users in India.
Despite some glitches and privacy concerns, the app has managed to attract a slew of high-profile government ministers and a handful of cricket personalities and celebrities.
#Kooapp was the top Twitter trend in India last week, followed by #BanTwitter a sign of how quickly the tide might be turning.
It has been reported that the government will make announcements via Koo first, rather than Twitter, in the near future.
Koo co-founder Aprameya Radhakrishna said some government handles "have already started kooing first", and then tweeting about one to three hours later.
"We are committed to a free speech platform for everyone in India irrespective of the language they know," he said.
"That's the main reason we started working on Koo in Nov 2019. We welcome every Indian to join the platform."
But Mr Pahwa said the app so far appeared to be largely populated by like-minded users and supporters of the ruling BJP party and its allies.
"It takes a democracy to create a debate, it takes a debate for a platform to flourish," Mr Pahwa said.
"If Koo is going to be just right-wing focused, and there's only one side on it, then I guess it will become an echo chamber and there'll be no-one to fight," he said.
The move to Koo is seen by some as an effort to wean off overseas apps and online technology.
Mr Pahwa said Modi's government is now aiming for technological self-sufficiency.
"There is a sense of 'China envy' in the Indian government, and not just about how big Chinese internet companies are ... but because it's closed out its tech ecosystem [to only Chinese apps]."
"India probably needs to do that in order to get Indian tech giants going as well," he said.
But unlike China's Twitter equivalent Weibo, Koo is not state-run or controlled, and exactly why the Modi government thinks it will be a more "BJP-friendly" platform in the long run is unclear.
The ABC has approached the Indian government for comment.
"There is a joke in India that I've read a bunch of times on Twitter, saying that sometimes the government feels that there is too much democracy in the country," Mr Pahwa said.
"But if you think about it, what makes Twitter work for many Indians is the fact that it's a global ecosystem, that we get voices from across the world."
Continue reading here:
Indian netizens are flocking to Koo, but what does it mean for censorship in the world's largest democracy? - ABC News
- Harvard Journal Abruptly Cancels Issue on Palestine, Sparking Accusations of Censorship - The Harvard Crimson - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- A Refuge From Censorship: Why Independent Bookstores Will Save Us - Literary Hub - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- Freelancing to fill information gaps left by global censorship - Freedom of the Press Foundation - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- Russian lawmakers pass a bill punishing online searches for information deemed to be 'extremist' - AP News - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- Amy Sherald Withdraws Exhibition From Smithsonian Amid Concerns Over Censorship - BroadwayWorld.com - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- AG Bontas Censorship of Pro-Life Speech Challenged in the 9th Circuit - Thomas More Society - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- Itch Has Now Been Censored By Payment Processors Too We're Slipping Down The Censorship Slope - TheGamer - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- Efforts to restrict or protect libraries both grew this year - Stateline - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- After The Party Free Speech At San Diego Comic-Con With The CBLDF - Bleeding Cool News - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- A Century After the Scopes Trial, Censoring Spirit on Evolution Still Thrives - Evolution News - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- New Lollipop Chainsaw game and anime adaptation in the works. Publisher promises lots of dark humor and no censorship - AUTOMATON - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- News in India is being erased from the internet - Index on Censorship - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- Turkish police arrested magazine staff over Muhammad cartoon, but it doesnt actually depict the prophet - FIRE | Foundation for Individual Rights and... - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- Are You Laughing Yet? - The Atlantic - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- In Letter, Artists and Scholars Call for Reinstatement of Whitney ISP Leader Ousted Amid Censorship Controversy - ARTnews.com - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Yoko Taro Tried to Warn Us About Payment Processors' Censorship in 2024 - 80 Level - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Summer 2025 Teen Advocacy Institute: Power to the Readers - National Coalition Against Censorship - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Crying Censorship, US Pressures Foreign Officials in Bid to Counter Tech Regulations - Tech Policy Press - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Some Implications of Censorship of Equality and Equity in Policy and Public Administration Courses - PA TIMES Online - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Political turmoil and military tensions see 24 internet restrictions imposed so far in 2025 - Tom's Guide - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Australian anti-porn group claims responsibility for Steam's new censorship rules in victory against 'porn sick brain rotted pedo gamer fetishists',... - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Why is self-censoring tape appearing all over Tokyos host club ads?Photos - SoraNews24 - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Steam Users Rally Behind Anti-Censorship Petition - OpenCritic - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Stephen Colbert and I: The Tightening of Right-Wing Censorship - Informed Comment - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- Artists speak out on attempted censorship of views on Gaza - Music Ally - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- Raging Trump Desperately Tried to Censor Epstein Expos - Yahoo Home - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- Steams Adult Games Under Threat in Financial Censorship Move That Cuts The Smut - Insider Gaming - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- Turkey becomes the First to Censor Musks AI Chatbot Grok - Informed Comment - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- Russia's new censorship push - Kremlin eyes control over WhatsApp and Telegram - RBC-Ukraine - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- Revealed: The secret code words being used to beat online censorship - The Telegraph - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- New Russian law criminalizes online searches for controversial content - The Washington Post - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Censoring All Men Are Created Equal cost U. Oregon $724K will other universities learn? - The College Fix - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Pixar Censorship Report Addressed By Director Of Studios Next Movie: The Movie Will Morph With Or Without You - Screen Rant - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Advertising Standards Authority Bans Viva!s Dairy is Scary Ad, Sparking Controversy Over Censorship - vegconomist - the vegan business magazine - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- This VTuber Just Raised Over $780 for the ACLU. After Steam's New Content Policies? Her Anti-Censorship Message Is Urgent - VICE - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Desperate Royals Tried to Censor Leaked Kings Funeral Plans - The Daily Beast - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Ready or Not Shows Signs of Recovery After Censorship Controversy - Game Rant - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- When Superman takes a side: Gaza, censorship, and the criminalisation of empathy in America - India Today - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Northeastern research breaches The Great Firewall to look at Chinese censorship - Northeastern Global News - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Ready Or Not Modder Retcons 'Censorship' Changes Within An Hour Of New Patch Going Live - IGN Southeast Asia - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Foreign journalists in the U.S. are self-censoring to protect themselves from the Trump administration - Poynter - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Turkey becomes the first to censor AI chatbot Grok - Global Voices - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- How Iran and Israel control information - Index on Censorship - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- "I've Been Dying To Play This Game For Years": With Ready Or Not Launching On Console Tomorrow, It Looks Like The Censorship Has Already... - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Spotify could pull out of Trkiye in row over censorship pressure - Music Ally - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Indian film board criticised for cutting overly sensual Superman kisses - The Guardian - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Superman's Big Kiss Was Cut By The Censors In India - Kotaku - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Russia and Belarus unveil censored 'patriotic AI' to rival the West - Ynetnews - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- I Would Quit Before They Made Me Do That | Feedback - School Library Journal - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Reporter's Notebook - July 13th, 2025: An MCTS financial fiasco, Milwaukee arts winners and losers, book censorship in Wisconsin prisons - WTMJ - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Internet fumes at censorship of kissing scene in James Gunns Superman: They don't have a problem with Housefull 5 | Bollywood - Hindustan Times -... - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Listen to the Trump-Referencing Clipse Track Universal Music Allegedly Tried to Censor - Mother Jones - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- The EUs Censorship Codes Are Coming for the First Amendment - National Review - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Guest column | Book bans dont work. As a kid, I proved it. - The Washington Post - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Ira Wells, who literally wrote the book on book bans, shares his thoughts on the politics of censorship - The Globe and Mail - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Fans SLAM censorship of 33-second kissing scene in James Gunns Superman: 'They don't have a problem with - Times of India - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- After the Bombings, Iran Tightened Its Censorship. Iranians Arent Standing For It. - Council on Foreign Relations - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- All that glitters is not gold: A brief history of efforts to rebrand social media censorship - FIRE | Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Zelensky, Zuckerberg, prolifers, a trans journalist, and a gay person with a Bible. How Russia is censoring the Axios/HBO documentary - Mediazona - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Chinese censorship-busters claim Tencent is trying to kill its WeChat archive - theregister.com - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Ethereum advances toward censorship-resistant scaling with zkEVM layer-1 shift - CryptoSlate - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Peskov admitted to the existence of military censorship in Russia - - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Trump Imposes 50% Tariff on Brazil: Political Tensions and Censorship at the Center - Cryptodnes.bg - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- :Director Honey Trehan on His Film Punjab 95 and the Censorship Battle with CBFC - Frontline Magazine - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Ready Or Not Fans Hate The Game For All The Wrong Reasons - TheGamer - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- China Censors Trump's Bomb Threat on Beijing - Newsweek - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Review | How censors tried and failed to keep LGBT voices out of the movies - The Washington Post - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- UN AI summit accused of censoring criticism of Israel and big tech over Gaza war - Geneva Solutions - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- From gr*pists to nip nops, how self-censorship shapes the language of TikTok : Code Switch - NPR - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Corrido Censorship: The paradox of funding and criminalizing cartel stories - The Oakland Post - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- 'Ready or Not' Devs Unveil a Mod to Remove Censorship In-Game For a More Brutal Experience - player.one - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Centre flays X over 'censorship' claim, says platform delayed unblocking accounts - Times of India - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Turkey blocks Grok content, becoming first country to 'censor' the AI chatbot - Middle East Eye - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- X blasts India censorship order on thousands of accounts - New Age BD - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- 'JSK' Producer Suresh Kumar On Its Censorship: All Issues Began With 'L2: Empuraan' - The Hollywood Reporter India - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Some patriotic reflections on Independence Day - The Verge - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- AI, Fair Use, and the Arsenal of Democracy - RealClearDefense - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Democratic nomination for Ithaca Common Council seat decided by just 11 votes - WSKG - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- A Summer Reading List for Americas 250th Anniversary - Ash Center - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- DEEP DIVE: $500 MILLION IN MEDIA FUNDING. BUT WHO'S CALLING THE SHOTS BEHIND THE HEADLINES? Its not just censorship its coordination. In Episode 2 of... - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]