Chancellor candidate Robert Habeck criticized Musk and urged Europe to develop its own social network.

Germany's Minister of Economics, Robert Habeck, has urged the European Union to end its dependence on "tech oligarchs" like Elon Musk, who, according to him, undermine democracy.

Speaking during televised debates ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for this Sunday, February 23, the Green Party's chancellor candidate described Musk's influence as a direct threat to European values, as reported by Politico.

"The most influential person in the world, U.S. President Donald Trump, and the richest person in the world, Elon Musk, have joined forces to remove any boundaries to the spread of their power," Habeck stated, referring to Musk's significant role in the Trump administration.

"This cannot be in our interests," he emphasized.

Habeck accused Musk and other American tech giants of hypocritically proclaiming "freedom of speech" while strictly guarding their business models and algorithms as "state secrets," preventing European legislation from regulating them.

"They must be regulated according to our values," Habeck stressed, noting that European regulations are failing to meet this challenge.

"Why don't we have our own German or European social network? We cannot rely on Chinese algorithms or the far-right fantasies of Elon Musk when it comes to shaping our democracy," the minister said.

Habeck called for Europe to regain control over the digital space, not just in social media but across all sectors where "technological leadership has left the continent." He warned that measures need to be taken within the next two years.

Green MEP Sergey Lagodinsky proposed an even more radical approach: for the EU to purchase existing platforms instead of trying to build its own. Lagodinsky argued that Europe must act decisively by acquiring European operations of TikTok or other major platforms to free itself from foreign control.

"The democratic and geopolitical risks of social media controlled by foreign states are far too great," Lagodinsky warned.