Must see from @euronews

@_elena @euronews

️ CEO of W, Anna Zeiter, was #eBay Chief Privacy Officer and VP #AI and Data Responsibility:

"... [eBay's AI] policies have recently come under regulatory scrutiny, particularly in Europe where privacy authorities in Germany have raised concerns about [eBay training AI with user data after users complained]."

"Sellers have also raised transparency concerns around ways that eBay may be using AI to alter their listing information without their explicit permission and without clear disclosure to them or to consumers..."

#bigtech #venturecapitalism #AI #socialmedia

@crecente thanks Drew! she was (is?) also on the board of Flo and well https://www.classaction.org/news/combined-56m-google-flo-settlement-ends-class-action-lawsuit-over-allegedly-illegal-health-data-sharing

Must see from @euronews

Fact check: Is the EU launching a social media platform called #WSocial?

: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/01/29/fact-check-is-the-eu-launching-a-social-media-platform-called-w

"A spokesperson for the European Commission told The Cube, Euronews' fact-checking team, that the EU is not launching or funding any social media platform, and that there is currently no EU-backed project called "W"

[...] W is a privately owned social media start-up incorporated in Sweden, backed by private investors mainly from the Nordic region."

Please share widely

@_elena @euronews

For god's sake, this W story is more ridiculous over time

@_elena

Ouch! Also involved with Flo? Such a terrible, distasteful invasion of health privacy. Who would trust those involved with user data?

Thanks for sharing this Elena!

@crecente yes! someone sent me this tip and Zeiter still has a page on Flo's website: https://flo.health/about-us/anna-zeiter

I couldn't find the message (I had pretty much a hundred mentions a day this week) but I will look for the source to credit them in my article.

My Fediverse sources / researchers are THE BEST

Must see from @euronews

Fact check: Is the EU launching a social media platform called #WSocial?

: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/01/29/fact-check-is-the-eu-launching-a-social-media-platform-called-w

"A spokesperson for the European Commission told The Cube, Euronews' fact-checking team, that the EU is not launching or funding any social media platform, and that there is currently no EU-backed project called "W"

[...] W is a privately owned social media start-up incorporated in Sweden, backed by private investors mainly from the Nordic region."

Please share widely

@davey_cakes wait until you read what I found... publishing something early next week right after FOSDEM

@pink @_elena @euronews what does the Mastodon instance have to do with W?

Must see from @euronews

Fact check: Is the EU launching a social media platform called #WSocial?

: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/01/29/fact-check-is-the-eu-launching-a-social-media-platform-called-w

"A spokesperson for the European Commission told The Cube, Euronews' fact-checking team, that the EU is not launching or funding any social media platform, and that there is currently no EU-backed project called "W"

[...] W is a privately owned social media start-up incorporated in Sweden, backed by private investors mainly from the Nordic region."

Please share widely

@UlrikeHahn it works. But W does not

@pink @_elena @euronews

@UlrikeHahn it works. But W does not

@pink @_elena @euronews

Must see from @euronews

Fact check: Is the EU launching a social media platform called #WSocial?

: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/01/29/fact-check-is-the-eu-launching-a-social-media-platform-called-w

"A spokesperson for the European Commission told The Cube, Euronews' fact-checking team, that the EU is not launching or funding any social media platform, and that there is currently no EU-backed project called "W"

[...] W is a privately owned social media start-up incorporated in Sweden, backed by private investors mainly from the Nordic region."

Please share widely

Must see from @euronews

Fact check: Is the EU launching a social media platform called #WSocial?

: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/01/29/fact-check-is-the-eu-launching-a-social-media-platform-called-w

"A spokesperson for the European Commission told The Cube, Euronews' fact-checking team, that the EU is not launching or funding any social media platform, and that there is currently no EU-backed project called "W"

[...] W is a privately owned social media start-up incorporated in Sweden, backed by private investors mainly from the Nordic region."

Please share widely

Must see from @euronews

Fact check: Is the EU launching a social media platform called #WSocial?

: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/01/29/fact-check-is-the-eu-launching-a-social-media-platform-called-w

"A spokesperson for the European Commission told The Cube, Euronews' fact-checking team, that the EU is not launching or funding any social media platform, and that there is currently no EU-backed project called "W"

[...] W is a privately owned social media start-up incorporated in Sweden, backed by private investors mainly from the Nordic region."

Please share widely

@karlos totally fabricated. The EU went on the record to rectify the misleading claims @hpod16

@_elena @euronews

I think that, at W, they were also a bit ambiguous in their communication and that add up with the ugly and superficial media coverage.

Not a great start for a commercial project

Must see from @euronews

Fact check: Is the EU launching a social media platform called #WSocial?

: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/01/29/fact-check-is-the-eu-launching-a-social-media-platform-called-w

"A spokesperson for the European Commission told The Cube, Euronews' fact-checking team, that the EU is not launching or funding any social media platform, and that there is currently no EU-backed project called "W"

[...] W is a privately owned social media start-up incorporated in Sweden, backed by private investors mainly from the Nordic region."

Please share widely

@_elena @euronews And not a single mention.of Mastodon, which is arguably the actual X alternative this startup wants to become.

@renef @_elena @euronews W is not positioning itself as a Mastodon alternative. It's a centrally operated platform with algorithms, fundamentally different from Mastodon's federated model. W requires mandatory identity verification (to reduce bots) while Mastodon prioritizes pseudonymity. Very different beasts.