European project Eurosky aims to reduce reliance on US tech giants

(In lead paragraph, removes reference to "government-backed;" in paragraph 7, changes government backing reference to "strong expressions of interest" from four European governments.)

By Thomas Escritt

BERLIN (Reuters) -A group of European technology entrepreneurs has unveiled the Eurosky initiative, a project to create infrastructure for social media offerings and reduce reliance on U.S. tech giants.

The project, spurred partly by polling data showing strong demand in Europe for locally based social media, launches on Tuesday and plans to use a decentralized moderation platform, similar to that behind the Bluesky social media network.

Moderation - or trying to curb undesirable, illegal or criminal content ranging from stolen data to child pornography from a platform - remains a key barrier to entry for new social media hopefuls trying to offer alternatives to platforms like Meta's Facebook or Instagram.

Eurosky’s non-profit moderation service plans to outsource this process for social platform operators, said Sherif Elsayed-Ali, a participant in the initiative.

Polling by YouGov for advocacy groups People vs Big Tech and WeMove Europe showed majorities in France, Germany, and Spain favor Europe-based social media platforms, with only 5% of respondents preferring U.S.-based providers.

Elsayed-Ali emphasized the importance of digital sovereignty, stating, "The information space is something that should be governed by our laws, our values, our rules, and not subject to control by anyone—company or foreign government."

He said four European governments had made strong initial expressions of interest in backing the project but he could not disclose who they were.

This month, Reuters published data revealing a modest shift in European users' usage from U.S.-based providers of email and search towards European-based providers. This was partly driven by concerns over digital sovereignty and ties between U.S. tech leaders and the Trump administration.

Other participants include Sebastian Vogelsang, the developer behind Flashes, an Instagram rival built on Bluesky and Robin Berjon, a former data strategist for The New York Times.

(Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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