This article was originally published in Spanish by the news agency Agencia EFE to coincide with the formal meeting of the European Council held on 19 March. The original version is available on EFE’s website.
Brussels (EuroEFE) – EU leaders meeting this Thursday and Friday for their spring summit are being urged to promote and support genuinely European social media platforms that fully comply with EU digital legislation. A community initiative has called on them to establish “trust standards” without delay to achieve this goal.
On the eve of the summit, the promoters of the Trusted European Platforms (TEPs) project issued an appeal urging European leaders to take concrete steps towards greater EU autonomy and digital sovereignty. The call comes amid persistent resistance from non-European tech giants such as X, TikTok, and Facebook to align with European rules on transparency, privacy, and the fight against disinformation.
“Europe has built its own ecosystems in aviation, cinema, telecommunications, and clean technologies. We can—and must—do the same in the digital public sphere,” declares the Op-ed, signed by a dozen organisations across the technology and academic sectors.
Building sustainable and reliable platforms
“The EU does not need another ‘Twitter clone’” the group warns. “What it needs are sustainable, reliable platforms that reflect our European values.”
Among the measures proposed are the creation of a ‘European Trusted Platform’ label and an independent body to award it based on clear, objective criteria.
“This body,” they explain, “would operate much like a credit rating agency for financial bonds—but in a simpler, more accessible way.”
“Our preliminary analysis shows that at least eight platforms, possibly more, have real potential—including projects within the audiovisual sector” says Christophe Leclercq, initiator of the TEPs project, former media entrepreneur, and president of the Europe MédiaLab think tank. “The question is less about creating new platforms and more about scaling up existing ones.”
Mobilising resources and stakeholders
According to Leclercq, launching and maintaining these European platforms “requires the participation of media companies, venture capital, sovereign wealth funds, and advertisers.” He highlights advertising as a decisive factor: “Social media advertising in Europe amounts to €49 billion annually. Some advertisers will want to invest in trusted European environments,” he predicts.
Leclercq laments that EU efforts to impose European principles and values on big tech have so far achieved only “limited success.” Digital regulatory sovereignty, he argues, “is necessary but not sufficient.” What is also required is strategic autonomy, meaning “the presence of credible European social media players.”
Spain’s initiative welcomed
Commenting on Spain’s recent proposal to develop ‘HODIO’, a tool designed to analyse hate speech and polarisation on social media and generate a transparent public ranking, Leclercq offered his support.
“Such initiatives are both welcome and valuable,” he said, “especially if they involve cooperation with partners from other countries and ensure that their ratings are reflected in platform algorithms.”