Brussels – A public social media platform at the European level that offers an alternative to existing commercial services. This is the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) entitled “European Public Social Network“, which the European Commission officially registered today (4 March). The initiative envisages a social network designed as a service for society, financed by the community and subject to its supervision.
The main objectives are ambitious: the platform should remain impartial and independent of political pressure, while ensuring the protection of the rights of all citizens without distinction.
The Commission has declared the proposal legally admissible, confirming that it meets the formal criteria: it does not exceed the Commission’s powers, is not abusive, and does not conflict with the values of the Union. However, this registration does not yet constitute an assessment of the merits or a guarantee of future adoption.
The organisers have six months to start collecting signatures, which will last for one year. For the EU Commission to be obliged to respond and decide on what action to take, the initiative must collect at least 1,000,000 statements of support from at least 7 different Member States.
In a context where young people aged 15 to 24 rely on social media as their primary source of information for social and political news (65 per cent, according to Eurobarometer), digital security and the fight against disinformation have long been a political priority on the European Commission’s agenda. Faced with what has been described as a “Digital Far West”, the European Union has already taken action: in July, the Commission launched the prototype for an age verification app to protect minors from harmful content and addictive algorithms without violating their privacy, and five countries, including Italy, are now testing it. At the same time, what Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called a “coalition of digital willing” comprising six Member States is pushing to impose a minimum age limit of 16 for access to commercial platforms.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
