While more than 5 billion active users worldwide use social networks, Europe continues to heavily rely on foreign platforms: American ones like Facebook, Instagram, or X (whose CEO, Elon Musk, is being voluntarily interviewed by the Paris prosecutor’s office on Monday 20th for content moderation issues), or Chinese ones like TikTok. These giants dominate the flow of information, cultural exchanges, and public debates on the continent.
But at what cost? The stakes are no longer just economic or technological: they are also, if not primarily, political, social, and identity-related. Europe, with its 450 million inhabitants, democratic values, and unique regulatory framework, has everything it needs to become a player in this sector. Yet, it remains a bystander, even though it already has the technology, AI expertise, and necessary skills to succeed.
Europe has already taken a step forward with the GDPR and the Digital Services Act (DSA), which regulate data usage and content moderation. But regulation alone is not enough: there is also a need for European infrastructures and platforms. Contrary to popular belief, Europe is not technologically behind.
On one hand, it has recognized expertise in AI: the European Union adopted unprecedented regulation in 2024 to oversee AI, while also heavily investing in digital innovation hubs and “AI gigafactories” capable of competing with American or Chinese infrastructures. On the other hand, European startups and scale-ups, like Mistral AI in France or Konux in Germany, prove that Europe can innovate and compete with American giants. Recently, the European Commission approved investments of 1.3 billion euros to support these initiatives.
Creating European social networks is much more than just replacing Facebook or TikTok. It is about protecting citizens’ data from massive exploitation by foreign actors. It is also about stimulating local innovation by providing a playing field for European entrepreneurs and researchers, without depending on rules imposed by Silicon Valley or Beijing. This also helps strengthen democracy by enabling a less polarized public debate, less manipulated by algorithms designed to maximize engagement rather than the quality of information.
Finally, this leads to the creation of economic value: social networks are a colossal market. Why let the GAFAM and BATX capture most of it (e.g., 75% of the European advertising market) when Europe could generate jobs, taxes, and sustainable growth from it?
Mutualizing resources
Of course, the path is not easy, or else the debate would not exist. The main obstacle is not technological, but political and cultural. Europe must coordinate its efforts to avoid fragmentation among member states and pool resources. It is also about daring to be ambitious: not just regulating but also continuing to innovate and invest massively, like the United States and China. Lastly, gaining the trust of users by proving that European alternatives are as efficient, secure, and attractive as established giants.
The full list of signatories
- Gilles Babinet (Mission CafeIA),
- David Chavalarias (CNRS),
- Ariane Cronel (futurist),
- Stephane Dubreuil (Project Epsilon),
- Francois Germinet (CY Cergy Paris University, Le 106),
- Lorraine Goumot (economic journalist),
- Marie-Virginie Klein (Iconic.),
- Sebastien Lescop (Cloud Temple),
- Patrick Levy-Waitz (Foundation for Working Differently),
- Marie-Caroline Missir (Toward the Top),
- Pauline Rocafull (European Scriptwriters Guild),
- Geoffroy Roux de Bezieux (Notus Technologies),
- Agnes Saal (Honorary General Administrator),
- Sebastien Soriano (Member of the AI and Digital Council),
- Bruno Sportisse (INRIA).
