Joni Askola is a Finnish geopolitical analyst and PhD student at Charles University in Prague.
Europe needs its own social media platforms and better regulation of the existing ones. It's not just a matter of technology. This a strategic and existential matter.
If we talk about strategic autonomy, we must include social media. Europe's enemies and their allies are using these platforms to target us divide and weaken. They have a near monopoly on what we use, and we barely respond.
We regulate foreign interference in traditional media. But on social media we allow anything. This doesn't make sense. The threat is just as real, and often even greater.
RT, a global multilingual news network based in Moscow, is banned in Europe because it is Russian state propaganda. So why do we think TikTok and X are safe? Their goals remain the same: influence, division, control. We have to stop being naive.
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The most underrated issue of this decade
China bans our platforms but expects us to allow TikTok, which harms our youth and floods our elections with disinformation. Elon Musk is doing the same with X. He wants to influence our choices and openly supports the far right.
We cannot allow our enemies or their allies to control what Europeans see on the internet. This is too important. And we hardly talk about it. This may be the most underrated issue of this decade.
Europe needs platforms that respect European rules and values. People will use them. However, they must be profitable. They can't be small apps with little funding that no one joins. This means regulation, protectionism or public investment, as in the case of weapons. Social media has it too strategic importance.
We're running out of time
Better regulation does not mean censorship. It could mean transparency in advertising and algorithms, identity checks to curb bots, and penalties for platforms that fail to protect users. None of these solutions are perfect. However, they are all better than what we currently have.
Musk knows how powerful social media is. That's why he bought X. Vice President JD Vance knows it too. That's why he threatens Europe for trying to introduce regulations. China is doing the same thing with TikTok.
If Europe is serious about strategic autonomy, social media must be part of the plan. This is a strategic issue. This is an existential issue. This is an urgent matter. We're running out of time. We either take action now or remain pawns in the game between Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.
TikTokCamilo Concha / Shutterstock
European fear
The closer a country is to Russia, the greater the likelihood that its inhabitants perceive the Kremlin as the greatest threat to Europe.
According to a new multi-national study conducted by YouGov in seven EU countries, Russia's aggression was perceived as one of the greatest threats to Europe by 51 percent respondents in Poland, 57 percent in Lithuania, as well as 62 percent in Denmark, a country that lies further from Russia but controls the entrance to the Baltic Sea, through which Russian tankers and military ships often pass. Denmark is also the world's largest donor of military aid to Ukraine as a percentage of gross domestic product.
The EU wants to arm itself. As Russia's threats to Europe mount and intelligence services assume that Moscow will be able to militarily start another war by 2030 at the latest, the European Commission on Thursday presented an action plan for four weapons projects by 2030. They include an eastern flank monitoring system, drone protection initiatives, a multi-level air defense system and a shield for outer space.
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