A former eBay exec takes the helm of a new platform designed to provide an option for Europeans who want to distance themselves from American services.<\/b>
\nAlongside the global political wrangling at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, a group of organizations has launched a Eurocentric social media platform as an alternative to Elon Musk’s X and other US-controlled services.
As reported by CyberNews, the site\u2014known as W\u2014is designed around trusted sources, photo-identified users, and European hosting and control. It’s backed by an advisory board, former ministers, and businesses, most of which are based in Sweden. The two Vs in W reportedly stand for \u00ab\u00a0values\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0verified.\u00a0\u00bb
President Trump’s scattershot approach to communication and policy in the last year has led to consternation among European allies. While the politicians figure out how to salvage diplomatic relations, many Europeans are keen to regain control over some of the digital spaces they use to discuss these issues. Many have moved on from platforms like X and Instagram, but even the alternatives, from Bluesky to Mastodon, are US-controlled. W is designed to remain squarely under European ownership.
The venture was announced by its CEO, Anna Zeiter, who recently left her job as chief privacy officer at eBay. \u00ab\u00a0There is an urgent need for a new social media platform built, governed, and hosted in Europe. With human verification, free speech, and data privacy at its core\u00a0\u00bb, she says.
\u00ab\u00a0Across Europe and beyond, systemic disinformation is eroding public trust and weakening democratic decision-making\u00a0\u00bb, she adds. \u00ab\u00a0Many see the problem. Far fewer are helping shape what comes next.\u00a0\u00bb
Available at wsocial.eu, the site is only open to early testers; you need a code to access it, and there are no mobile apps yet.
The platform will have stricter privacy and data protection standards than other social media platforms. When it opens to the general public, they’ll need to provide photo ID to post on the platform, and all data on the site will be hosted within the European Union.
The announcement comes days after a group of 56 members of the European Parliament called for alternatives to dominant social media platforms. In an open letter to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, they described X as \u00ab\u00a0a deepfake pornography website, and a one-way broadcast system for Musk himself.\u00a0\u00bb
Of course, starting a social media platform is hard. Bluesky and Mastodon benefited from the Musk backlash, but aren’t exactly giving him or Meta a run for their money yet. Still, if my own anecdotal interactions with other Europeans are anything to go by, there is a growing sentiment to ditch American products and services to insulate us from any US political fallout and as a quiet protest against the Trump administration. Perhaps in these turbulent times, something like W could really catch on.<\/p>\n