Twitter needs India and Nigeria to grow
Twitter needs India and Nigeria to grow
Twitter is under siege in two countries critical to the company's global expansion plans.
For months, the social media giant has been embroiled in a legal battle with the Indian government over free speech and other issues, and is currently battling New Delhi's new restrictive rules. As if that weren't dramatic enough, thousands of miles away along Africa's western coast, even more dramatic events are unfolding.
Nigeria blocked Twitter (TWTR) last week "indefinitely" after the company deleted a post by President Muhammadu Buhari threatening a brutal crackdown on unrest in Africa's most populous country. Additionally, the Nigerian government has directed federal prosecutors to arrest app users.
Twitter is concerned about the restrictions in India and the ban in Nigeria. While the company does not break down user data by country, independent research indicates that India is one of the company's top five markets. Asia's third largest economy — with 700 million internet users and many more on the way — is also Twitter's fastest growing market. Meanwhile, according to NOI Polls, nearly 20% of Nigeria's 200 million-strong population has a Twitter account.
After Nigeria demonstrated its willingness to ban Twitter, some fear India will follow suit if the dispute between New Delhi and the company cannot be resolved.
"If this trend continues, India's China Envy will morph into Nigeria Envy," tweeted internet activist Nikhil Pahwa, the Delhi-based founder of technology news website MediaNama.
"If Twitter continues to defy the government, you may see more calls for its banning in India," Pahwa told CNN Business.
The response of the Silicon Valley company to political pressure in these countries will determine its trajectory in these fast-growing economies, which are critical for any global expansion strategy. Successfully navigating the tensions could provide a blueprint for other American technology firms dealing with increasingly authoritarian governments.
New international challenges coincide with domestic tensions, where Washington has demonstrated a willingness to rein in American tech giants. And it's not helping matters that former US President Donald Trump — who is currently banned from Twitter and Facebook (FB) — has urged other countries to follow Nigeria's lead.
'Undermining' Nigeria
Months of tensions have exacerbated Twitter's difficulties in Nigeria and India.
Nigerians felt snubbed by Twitter earlier this year when the company chose Ghana as the location for its first Africa base, rather than Nigeria, the continent's largest economy.
Despite the fact that nearly 40 million Nigerians have a Twitter account — more than the entire population of Ghana — there are some geopolitical factors that may have influenced Twitter's decision. Ghana was ranked 13 places higher than Nigeria in the World Bank's 2019 "Ease of Doing Business Index." When Twitter announced the decision in April, it referred to Ghana as "a champion for democracy, a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet."
Tensions erupted this month when Twitter removed Buhari's post for violating its anti-abusive behavior policy.
Nigeria's Ministry of Information and Culture responded to Twitter's decision by banning the platform for allowing the use of "activities capable of undermining Nigeria's corporate existence." The ministry stated in an interview with AFP that it would reinstate Twitter if it "registers as a company in Nigeria."
Meanwhile, the company has stated that it "will work to restore access for all Nigerians who rely on Twitter to communicate and connect with the rest of the world."
"The Nigeria ban will undoubtedly prompt many other emerging economies to consider how they can attract the attention of platforms as well," Gbenga Sesan, executive director of Paradigm Initiative, an organization that promotes digital inclusion and human rights in Africa, told CNN Business. He added that if Twitter complies with Nigeria's new registration requirements, "then other countries may follow suit in order to raise tax revenue."
Threats to free speech in India
In February, tensions in India were sparked when protesters used Twitter to express their opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new agriculture laws. The company clashed with the government over an order to close accounts at the request of the Information Technology Ministry, eventually complying in part but refusing to take action against journalists, activists, or politicians.
In May, police visited Twitter's New Delhi office following the company's decision to label a tweet from a spokesperson for Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party as "manipulated media." Police stated that the visit was "part of a routine process" to elicit cooperation from Twitter in connection with the investigation. The social media company condemned the move as "intimidation tactics" and expressed "concern" about its employees' safety in the country.
India's new social media regulations have exacerbated the chill. They include requirements that businesses establish special roles in India to ensure compliance with local law and that businesses maintain constant contact with law enforcement. Additionally, services are required to remove certain types of content, including posts that contain "complete or partial nudity."
Twitter has expressed concern about "core elements of the new IT Rules" and the country's "potential threat to free speech." Modi's government, on the other hand, claims that the company is attempting to "undermine India's legal system" through "deliberate defiance" of the rules.
"Twitter needs to stop skirting the law and comply with the law of the land," the government stated in May. "Lawmaking and policy formulation are the sovereign's sole prerogative, and Twitter is merely a social media platform with no [place] in dictating what... India's legal policy framework should be."
According to Pahwa, the debate over social media usage in India is not so much about freedom of speech as it is about a foreign company challenging the Indian government's might. He added that Nigeria's ban "additionally fuels the fire."
Hire locally, grow locally
To survive and thrive in these emerging economies, experts believe that companies like Twitter will need to invest more in local teams and an understanding of local laws.
Additionally, government pressure may be eroding Twitter's resolve already.
After expressing reservations last month about the new social media rules, the company has now stated that it remains "deeply committed" to India, one of its largest markets globally.
"We have assured the Government of India that Twitter is making every effort to adhere to the new guidelines, and we have shared an update on our progress," the company said in a statement this week. "With the Indian government, we will continue our constructive dialogue."
According to Vivan Sharan, a partner at Delhi-based technology policy consultancy Koan Advisory Group, the Nigeria shutdown and debate in India may serve as a "wake-up call" for western social media companies to "grow local capacity to moderate content and devolve decision-making to country offices."
"Of course, this is a tall order for new-age companies accustomed to global scale and presence without making commensurately large investments on the ground," he explained.
"The majority of social media giants focus the majority of their operational bandwidth on developed markets; this paradigm is untenable and is beginning to shift," he added. "Companies that do not increase their investment in localization in emerging markets risk falling victim to the splinternet."
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