Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) – As Europe pushes for more tech sovereignty, social network W believes it has the X-factor to win users away from other platforms: it’s European. The competitor to Elon Musk’s X platform was announced in January but will be available to the public initially by invitation in the coming days and weeks. At a launch event in Brussels, the company touted that top officials, including EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde, as well as EU institutions and media groups, were using W.
Based in Sweden, the company has dozens of investors, including entrepreneurs and executives from across Europe, including Britain, France, and Switzerland. The tech team is based in Ukraine, CEO Anna Zeiter said. Zeiter mentioned that the company aimed to create a space where humans interacted more with each other than with AI bots, and that it would operate under European control. “Social media are coming from other countries outside of Europe. We are giving away the revenue. We are giving away our data. We are giving away our attention,” she emphasized.
W is not the only fledgling network seeking to capitalize on rising transatlantic tensions under US President Donald Trump since his return last year. There are also Bulle (French for “bubble”), Eurosky, Monnett—a hybrid of TikTok and Instagram planned for release in July—and eYou. The most popular social networks in Europe are Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, with 259 million monthly users; Chinese-owned TikTok, with 135.9 million monthly; and X, with approximately 115.1 million users, according to the EU.
© 2024 AFP
