In a shifting moment for tech governance, the Forum on Information and Democracy is publishing a position paper authored by a group of researchers calling for Europe to seize a unique opportunity to establish local social media platforms.
In the midst of raising techno-political tension, a group of scholars is calling on the European Union to act decisively to build alternative models to US-based tech giants. Published by the Forum on Information and Democracy, the paper entitled Europe has a unique chance to establish local social media platforms, to counter the new US technopolitics provides fresh perspectives on what could be done to pursue the implementation of guardrails for entities that structure the information space.
The group, composed of Alistair Knott, Susan Leavy, Dino Pedreschi, David Eyers, Paul Teal, Ricardo Baeza-Yates, Toshiya Jitsuzumi, Markus Luczak-Roesch, Camille Grenier, Luca De Biase and Virginia Dignum recalls the unique context in which the world stands today: while the EU has introduced unique regulatory frameworks, tech companies have backtracked on their previous commitments and are now openly challenging these regulations.
In this looming confrontational context, the paper urges European leaders to play the card they hold in technology governance. It explores the potential impact and feasibility of creating a European social media infrastructure that would comply natively with local laws at the European level. This new infrastructure would have economical, social and political benefits, and place the user experience and rights at the center of the industry:
- Local social media platforms respecting the regulations would be better suited to address issues such as disinformation thanks to better traceability of content, and benefit European citizens through more transparency on the use of their personal data.
- The new sovereign digital infrastructure would provide interoperability between platforms, allowing users to easily communicate and migrate from one platform to another and avoiding a ‘locked-in’ effect on the users.
- The creation of a new infrastructure and platforms would guarantee their compliance with the local laws, notably the DSA and the DMA, and overcome the challenge of retroactively modifying the existing platforms to effect compliance.
The main recommendations of the paper build on and expand principles of the International Declaration on Information and Democracy (2018) notably around transparency, freedom of choice and integration by design. It also builds on recommendations put forward in recent reports published by the organization, including Pluralism of News and Information in Curation and Indexing Algorithms and AI as a Public Good.
While the replacement of large platforms would represent a draconian step, the paper advocates for several levers to facilitate this transition:
- The EU could suspend the platforms that don’t conform with the new regulations, or impose fines which would be used to sustain the local alternatives.
- Social media users would probably be disposed to migrate towards new platforms if they are in line with the law and more respectful of their confidentiality.
- Governments could support the creation of local enterprises via grants, while encouraging a free and competitive market.
The Forum has already advocated for the development of public interest infrastructures, notably in its report on AI and the information space published in February 2025.
As the paper argues, it is time to move beyond fixing a profit driven information structure, and rather, recognising the importance of access to reliable information, to build one that works in the interest of the people and democracy.
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