Twitter is facing an existential crisis in two cities, Nigeria and India, and coincidentally, both countries hold a strong demographic base for Twitter. The social media platform has been in a battle with the Indian government for months. The main issue has been that of free speech which the government of India is trying to control by pushing restrictive new rules. Later, Twitter also got into a tussle with the Nigerian government which resulted in its indefinite ban.
Twitter had to face the wrath of the Nigerian government after it deleted a post published by President Muhammadu Buhari. In the post, he treated a brutal clampdown on unrest in the most populous nation of Africa. Further, the Nigerian government asked the federal prosecutors to go ahead and arrest the users who are using the app.
Twitter holds a large demographic in Nigeria and India
The ban by Nigeria and the potential ban by India can prove to be troublesome for Twitter. According to reports, India lies in the top five markets of Twitter. Further, with more than 700 million internet users in the country, it presents a good market for all businesses. Similarly, 200 million which is 20% of the population of Nigeria has Twitter accounts. The bold step taken by Nigeria might also lead the way for other countries like India to ban the app if they fail to resolve the issue.
If Twitter continues to defy the government, it will surely receive more calls for its ban. When working within a country, it becomes important for the global companies and businesses to comply with the political pressure too to ensure that it keeps growing. For instance, the Indian government organizes a lottery like the Punjab State Lottery with its own rules and regulations.
Following the footsteps of these countries, even the home country is trying to control the tech giant. Former US President Donald Trump still holds grudges against Twitter for banning him and therefore, it is not surprising that he has asked other countries to follow Nigeria by banning the tech giant.
Twitter has underestimated Nigeria
The first time when Nigeria distasted Twitter was when earlier the company decided to set its first base in Africa in Ghana instead of Nigeria, which is currently the largest economy of the continent. The number of Twitter users present in Nigeria is much more than the total population of Ghana. This created tension between Nigeria and Twitter earlier this year. The decision of Twitter to place its office in Ghana instead of Nigeria might have some geopolitical considerations. In 2019, the World Bank placed Ghana 13 positions higher than Nigeria in the “Ease of Doing Business Index”. Further, Ghana is known for its democratic freedom and it has been a huge supporter of an open internet, free speech and online freedom.
The troubled Twitter in India
In India, Twitter landed in trouble when many Indians used the platform for posting against Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister for introducing new agricultural laws. The IT ministry then asked Twitter to take down a few accounts but Twitter refused to comply with this order which created a rift between the Indian government and Twitter.
Earlier, in May police also landed on Twitter’s office situated in Delhi after Twitter tagged a post published by a spokesperson of Bharatiya Janta Party, the ruling party of India as manipulated media. Even though the police declared it as a part of a routine process, Twitter said that the move was actually an intimidation tactic and that it fears for its employees working in the country. Later, India further intensified different policies and asked Twitter to comply with them.
Experts have advised that Twitter should invest in the local teams for understanding the local laws of the country where it is functioning. For instance, of 28 states in India, the lottery is legal in 13 states, one can take part in the Sikkim State Lottery and to gather such insights, it is important to have local teams. It would be interesting to see what is the fate of Twitter in India. Will Twitter comply with the new IT guidelines of the Indian government or will it stay true to its core value of being a democratic platform where its users can voice their opinion strongly and without fear.