Casablanca – A new social network called “W” is positioning itself as Europe’s answer to the dominance of US tech platforms, but early reactions suggest the idea may be more complicated than the pitch.
Launched by Swedish startup W Social AB at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, the platform is designed to compete directly with X, formerly Twitter. Its founders claim it puts people first, not algorithms, and promises stronger privacy and freer speech.
W is privately owned and backed by European investors, with funding largely coming from the Nordic region. One of its largest shareholders is climate-focused firm We Don’t Have Time, which holds a significant stake in the company.
The platform’s core idea is to allow only verified users to post. Thus, an identity check is mandatory using government-issued IDs, aimed at reducing bots and disinformation.
But this same feature is already raising concerns. Experts say forcing users to verify their identity could discourage participation and create new privacy risks. Surveys show nearly half of Europeans are uncomfortable with social media platforms requiring proof of identity, seeing it as a form of surveillance rather than trust-building.
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W is not emerging in a vacuum. Across Europe, there is growing frustration with the dominance of American tech giants like Meta and X, which shape public debate while operating under different legal and cultural frameworks.
Several initiatives are now trying to build local alternatives. Projects like Eurosky, for example, focus on giving users control over their data and storing it on European servers under EU rules.
This push is partly political as European regulators have clashed with US platforms over transparency, data use, and content moderation. There is also a broader ambition to build digital sovereignty — keeping infrastructure, data, and governance within Europe.
W says its data will be hosted on European servers and handled by European providers, including encrypted email service Proton and Finnish cloud firm UpCloud.
Still, questions remain about whether users will actually switch. Previous attempts to rival major platforms have struggled, largely because people are reluctant to leave established networks where their communities already exist.
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