PanamaTimes

Friday, Jul 11, 2025

Meta could rival Twitter as it reveals work is under way on new social network

Meta could rival Twitter as it reveals work is under way on new social network

Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, appears to sense an opportunity to take advantage of the tumultuous nature of Elon Musk's Twitter ownership by launching a new rival.
Meta has revealed it is working on a new social network solely designed for sharing text updates.

The app would appear to be a direct competitor to Twitter, with a company spokesperson confirming it will be a "decentralised" platform similar to other alternatives that grew in popularity after Elon Musk's takeover.

"We're exploring a standalone decentralised social network for sharing text updates," a Meta statement said.

"We believe there's an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests."

The plan was originally reported by Money Control, citing Meta sources, with more details revealed by Platformer.

While the new app is said to be Instagram-branded (Meta owns that platform, plus Facebook and WhatsApp), allowing users to log in with existing accounts, it will operate differently.

It will reportedly support a decentralised social networking protocol called ActivityPub, which is the same one that powers some existing Twitter rivals like Mastodon.

What does decentralised mean?

Platforms that talk about being "decentralised" are hearkening back to an earlier era of the internet, where big tech companies had less of a monopoly over the websites that people used.

Facebook and Twitter, for example, are controlled by a single company - they have total oversight when it comes to content that is allowed on the platform.

But Mastodon, and other Twitter alternatives that rose in prominence last year, are instead made up of many independent communities or servers that live under one umbrella.

These might be run by different individuals or companies, with their own rules and policies.

Former Twitter boss Jack Dorsey, who co-founded the company in 2006, is working on his own such project called Blue Sky, which has been in testing since last year.

Is there demand for a 'new Twitter'?

Sky News analysis revealed surges in interest in Twitter-like platforms late last year, as users concerned with Musk's approach looked into jumping ship.

But the tumultuous takeover hasn't upended people's habits to the extent experts predicted. The rapid rise in Mastodon users, for example, has stalled.

One of the key issues facing upstart Twitter-like firms is that they often don't boast the accessible feature sets and slick visual design that helped make Facebook and Instagram usable by everyone, from your grandma to your kids.

Meta's new platform will likely be built with a mainstream audience in mind, though confidence in the company has taken something of a battering in recent years due to user privacy scandals and criticism of Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse strategy.

Other recent app experiments by the company have not always gone smoothly, with the likes of its video speed-dating service called Sparked and couples-focused social platform Tuned among those to have shut in recent years.
Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Brazilian Congress Rejects Lula's Proposed Tax Increase on Financial Transactions
Landslide in Bello, Colombia, Results in Multiple Casualties
Papa Johns pizza surge near the Pentagon tipped off social media before Trump's decisive Iran strike
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Sole Survivor of Air India Crash Recounts Escape
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
UK and EU Reach Agreement on Gibraltar's Schengen Integration
Israeli Finance Minister Imposes Banking Penalties on Palestinians
U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.4% in May Amid Trade Tensions
Trump's Policies Prompt Decline in Chinese Student Enrollment in U.S.
Global Oceans Near Record Temperatures as CO₂ Levels Climb
Trump Announces U.S.-China Trade Deal Covering Rare Earths
Smuggled U.S. Fuel Funds Mexican Cartels Amid Crackdown
Protests Erupt in Los Angeles with Symbolic Flag Burning
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
Man Group Mandates Full-Time Office Return for Quantitative Analysts
JPMorgan Warns Analysts Against Accepting Future-Dated Job Offers
Builder.ai Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Financial Misreporting Allegations
Japan Grapples with Rice Shortage Amid Soaring Prices
Goldman Sachs Reduces Risk Exposure Amid Market Volatility
HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker to Return to AIA as Non-Executive Chair
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Judge Blocks Trump's Ban on International Students at Harvard
Trump Proposes Travel Ban on 'Uncontrolled' Countries
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Eurozone Inflation Falls Below ECB Target to 1.9%
Call for a New Chapter in Globalisation Emerges
Blackstone and Rivals Diverge on Private Equity Strategy
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Netanyahu Accuses Western Leaders of 'Emboldening Hamas'
Escalating Trade Tensions and Market Reactions
OnlyFans Reportedly in Talks for $8 Billion Sale
JBS Gains Shareholder Approval for U.S. Stock Listing
Booz Allen Hamilton to Cut 2,500 Jobs Amid Federal Spending Reductions
Trump Signs Executive Orders to Accelerate Nuclear Energy Development
Harvard Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration's International Student Ban
Nippon Steel Forms Partnership with U.S. Steel, Headquarters to Remain in Pittsburgh
Trump Expands Tariff Threats to Apple and Samsung Devices
×