Kremlin says Musk's idea for Putin to join Clubhouse app interesting, seeks details

The Kremlin said on Monday that a proposal by Elon Musk for Russian President Vladimir Putin to join social networking app Clubhouse was interesting, but that it needed to see more details first.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was commenting after Musk tweeted to the Kremlin on Sunday: “Would you like join me for a conversation on Clubhouse?”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call: "In general, this is of course a very interesting proposal, but we need to understand what is meant, what is being proposed... first we need to check, then we will react."

Putin, a former KGB officer who once described the Internet as a CIA project, has for years styled himself as suspicious of modern technology.

A surprise chat between tech billionaire Elon Musk and Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev on new audio-based social network Clubhouse propelled the app to the top of the startup charts and sparked a scramble for invitations to the exclusive service.

Also read: Tesla CEO Elon Musk asks Russian President Vladimir Putin to join Clubhouse app

The app, available only on Apple, thrives on the concept of FOMO, fear of missing out. If you're not online when a conversation happens, you miss it.

Users can walk their dog or cook dinner while listening to talks on financing a start-up or the current state of American education or even tune in while playing trivia games.

Unlike podcasts, everything is live and users can participate as long as they are invited to do so by chat moderators.

Star-studded user base

A Clubhouse chat can be mundane but it can also be transformed into a must-hear event if someone famous shows up. In addition to Zuckerberg's and Musk's recent appearances, comedian Kevin Hart popped up in a chat last spring.

For Musk's appearance with the boss of trading app Robinhood, the maximum capacity of 5,000 people was quickly reached, so secondary overflow "rooms" were opened.

The audio app is reviewing its data protection practices, after a report by the Stanford Internet Observatory said it contained security flaws that left users' data vulnerable to access by the Chinese government.