MEP Alexandra Geese (Verts/ALE) has raised concerns about the European Commission's social media strategy, questioning its decision to join the closed-source platform W Social shortly after publishing a strategy emphasising openness in virtual worlds and web technologies. In a parliamentary question dated 9 July 2026, Geese also asked whether the Commission President's Instagram activity may breach ethics rules by promoting specific commercial companies.
it maintains accounts on ActivityPub-based services and operates its own Atmosphere servers for that federated protocol, yet chose W Social—a proprietary platform—over self-hosted alternatives. Geese asks why the Commission did not extend its own infrastructure to the new platform, given its stated commitment to open digital public infrastructure.
Geese further presses the Commission to publish a comprehensive social media strategy that reconciles its communications objectives with European technological sovereignty, clarifying whether it will prioritise open, interoperable ecosystems over dependence on proprietary platforms. The question also cites the Code of Conduct for Commissioners, asking whether the Commission President's Instagram posts—which could be perceived as promoting specific commercial social media companies—are appropriate under applicable ethics rules.
a rationale for the platform choice, a timeline for a comprehensive strategy, and an ethics assessment. The Commission is expected to reply within approximately six weeks; its answer will signal its policy direction on digital sovereignty and institutional social media use.