EU medicines agency quits X, moves to Bluesky

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Monday it would no longer post on X and would use rival Bluesky instead, becoming the latest organisation to quit a social media platform that some have criticised for its content.

"EMA will no longer post updates and content on X. We believe the X platform no longer suits our communication needs," the agency said in a statement.

"After careful consideration, the Agency has decided to open an account on Bluesky."

EMA spokespeople could not immediately be reached for further comment. A request for comment has been made to X.

EMA's move follows other organisations that have left or pared back activity on X due to concerns about the platform's content, including the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate, Germany's foreign and defence ministries, British news publisher the Guardian, and several UK universities.

It comes at a time X's billionaire owner Elon Musk is ramping up his political campaigning in Europe, most recently by urging Germans to vote for a far-right party.

Musk helped Donald Trump win last year's U.S. presidential election but his platform was criticised by disinformation experts for enabling the spread of falsehoods during the campaign. Musk says he wants X to champion free speech.

Since Trump's election victory, Bluesky has added millions of users. But it remains far smaller than its rivals.

EMA is a decentralised agency of the EU, responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines. Its headquarters are in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

It was regularly the centre of attention during the COVID pandemic, as it decided on the use of vaccines in the European Union.

The European Commission and other EU institutions are still active on X. The European Central Bank earlier this month joined Bluesky, but did not quit X.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Mark Potter)