Two European alternatives for X (Twitter)

Social media is the heartbeat of our online lives. Microblogs help us stay up to date and connect directly with others. For years, X, formerly known as Twitter, was the disputed king of this domain. Although the platform is still the largest in terms of user numbers, its absolute dominance is crumbling. Users are collectively searching for a new digital living room.

In this episode of “The European Alternative”, we discuss two powerful, sovereign alternatives to X. Surprisingly, the American Bluesky is one of them. We reveal how you can still remain European on this popular platform.

The demise of the blue bird

X is increasingly functioning as the personal propaganda machine of its owner, Elon Musk. The platform is under heavy fire in Europe. Musk is in direct conflict with the European Union over content moderation rules. The European Commission recently imposed a fine of €120 million for violating the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The consequences of this clash are now visible everywhere. Major news organisations are withdrawing from the platform. In November 2025, NOS and Nieuwsuur stopped posting messages on X altogether. They cited the lack of moderation and the explosion of hateful comments as the main reasons.

The situation escalated further in February 2026. The French judiciary raided X's offices in Paris. The authorities are investigating whether the algorithm was deliberately manipulated to influence politics. The spread of disinformation via the AI chatbot Grok is also part of this criminal investigation.

In response to these ongoing controversies, several alternatives quickly gained popularity. Meta's Threads attracted many users. Bluesky and the federated Mastodon also saw their visitor numbers rise. But Threads is an initiative of Mark Zuckerberg. His reputation for data collection is hardly better than Musk's. So we need to look beyond the well-known American tech giants.

Mastodon: The mature foundation

Mastodon is the undisputed pioneer in the field of independent microblogs. Eugen Rochko launched this open-source platform back in 2016. The system works fundamentally differently from X or Threads.

Mastodon uses the ActivityPub protocol. This means that there is no single central website. The platform consists of a large network of independently managed servers. These servers can communicate seamlessly with each other. This concept is called the Fediverse.

With Mastodon, you as a user have complete control over your own timeline. There are no hidden algorithms running in the background that push extreme content to keep your attention. You simply see all messages in chronological order. What's more, there are no advertisements or clickbait whatsoever.

This respect for the user makes Mastodon extremely attractive to governments and public institutions. The Dutch government actively encourages its use. Since 2025, the server social.overheid.nl has been accessible to all government organisations in the Netherlands. The Ministry of the Interior wants to use it to reach citizens via a secure and privacy-friendly channel. The European Commission also manages its own official Mastodon server.

After Musk's takeover of Twitter in 2022, Mastodon experienced explosive growth. Millions of users made the switch. Although not everyone remained active, Mastodon is now a mature and robust European alternative. New users sometimes find choosing a server difficult. Don't let that put you off, just start at https://mastodon.social. 

The rise of American Bluesky

Even more than Mastodon, Bluesky is currently the popular refuge for departing X users. The new Dutch Prime Minister Jetten is active here. This platform is very similar to the old Twitter in terms of appearance and functionality. It recently experienced a huge growth spurt and reached more than 15 million active users worldwide.

However, there is a major disadvantage to Bluesky for the conscious European user. It is and remains an American company. This has direct consequences for digital sovereignty and the protection of personal data.

American tech companies are subject to American law. The infamous CLOUD Act of 2018 is the biggest stumbling block here. This law obliges American companies to hand over user data to American intelligence services. This applies even if that data is stored on servers in Europe. This is at odds with strict European privacy legislation (GDPR). This poses a real risk to European citizens, journalists and politicians. In effect, you are exchanging one American billionaire for another American company. Although Bluesky is a “Public Benefit Corporation” with a greater focus on the public interest, the fundamental data problem remains.

True digital autonomy requires infrastructure that is entirely under European jurisdiction. We want the user-friendliness and reach of Bluesky, but we demand the legal protection of Europe. Fortunately, Bluesky's underlying technology offers a surprising and elegant solution to this problem.

Eurosky: The European bridge to Bluesky

Bluesky runs on the so-called AT Protocol. This is an open standard for decentralised social networks. The big advantage of an open protocol is that anyone can build applications on it. This is where Eurosky comes in.

Eurosky is a promising initiative from the Modal Foundation in The Hague. In January 2026, they launched their own accounts under the name eurosky.social. This is the absolute “kicker” for European users. With a Eurosky account, you get full access to the entire Bluesky network. You can communicate with all 15 million Bluesky users. The crucial difference lies in the storage of your data.

Eurosky stores your data securely within the borders of Europe. Eurosky thus functions as the European equivalent of Bluesky. On platforms such as Reddit, users are now actively advising each other to switch. They are moving their accounts to Eurosky to escape the American CLOUD Act and to benefit from European GDPR protection.

This migration is going smoothly thanks to the smart, interoperable design of the AT Protocol. You keep your followers and your messages, but you place your data under a secure European roof.

Join or switch now at eurosky.tech.

Building European digital sovereignty

Eurosky is much more than just a local alternative to Bluesky. It is a strategic project to strengthen Europe's democratic resilience. The initiative is actively building shared infrastructure for an open social web. For example, they are developing tools such as CoCoMo (Commons for Content Moderation). This system helps European projects comply with the strict rules of the DSA.

Nevertheless, the road to complete independence is long. Eurosky's umbrella funding campaign uses an American non-profit as its fiscal sponsor. This illustrates how difficult it is to finance independent technology purely with European funds. Nevertheless, Eurosky and Mastodon demonstrate that a different internet is possible.

We are not condemned to the whims of Silicon Valley. We can choose platforms that respect our privacy and defend our democratic values. The impact of this on the European economy and autonomy is enormous. We keep data, knowledge and innovation within our own borders. It is time to reclaim our digital living room. The alternatives are ready; we just need to make the switch.