@thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
Post #3347122
2026-06-17 16:59 UTC
RE: https://ec.social-network.europa.eu/@EUCommission/116766280029168108
"W Social" is launching their beta today today, following Eurosky as another European AT Protocol based Bluesky-compatible platform. W's distinctiveness is that it requires identity verification, using the separate "W identity" app that "scans your passport or national identity card and verifies you directly on your own device."
Unsurprisingly, W has a lot of backing from EU power structure -- including Ursula von der Leyen -- and their advisory board includes luminaries like Marc Placzek, Chief Privacy Officer at Sam Altman's Tools for Humanity (makers of the Orb identity verification device). A cynic might say that it's being built as a platform designed to fit in well with the surveillance-industrial complex.
So, it'll be interesting to see how it works out. See the replies for some good articles on W social.
#WSocial #atproto #surveillance
Replies (1)
-
@thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange 2026-06-17 17:03
@_elena@mastodon.social has had a series of good posts about W Social. W Social, Public Institutions and the Theater of European Digital Sovereignty is her latest, highlighting the contradiction of the European Commission moving to a closed-source platform. Her earlier posts are worth reading too; see the full series here. #WSocial