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The latest NGI TrustChain start-up cohort was selected from a pool of 162 applicants for the grant funding.
The EU has announced €1.8m in grant funding for 15 European start-ups developing blockchain technologies to fight online misinformation and false identities.
Awarded through the European Commission’s NGI TrustChain initiative, the so-called “democracy grants” will see each start-up receive up to $117,000 to combat the rise of online misinformation on platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and Meta, among others.
The latest cohort, which is the third of its kind, represents 10 European countries and was selected from a pool of 162 applicants for the grant funding. To date, NGI TrustChain has invested more than €4.6m in funding to 43 companies.
Dr Muttukrishnan Rajarajan, professor and director of the Institute of Cyber Security at City, University of London, said that misinformation, hate speech and online harm in democracy are “pressing issue[s]” given that nearly half the world’s population are voting in elections this year.
“TrustChain start-ups are working to use blockchain, identity, privacy and interoperable decentralised technologies so that the internet ecosystem can give the public confidence in online activities.”
And according to Sean Kane, co-founder and chair of the F6S blockchain start-up network, only six in 10 people trust online information.
“Fake and deceptive information is everywhere,” he said. “These 15 latest grants will help top new European blockchain and identity start-ups empower trusted discussion in European digital public spaces.”
The 15 start-ups that received funding under the EU scheme are: ZKorum (France), AI-MetaBloQ (Greece), Compellio (Luxembourg), Forkbomb BV (Netherlands), Enismaro (Italy), Arsys Internet (Spain), Acurraent UG (Germany), In Trade 4 You (Italy), QX by Qpick (Poland), Digital Democracy World (Sweden), Pavlos Efraimidis (Greece), City and Me doo Nis (Serbia), Gheorghe Asachi Tech, University Iasi (Romania), SecureOpinion (UK), and Neuron AI (Greece).
Earlier this year, in response to rising misinformation online, the EU dropped new election guidelines for online search and social media giants ahead of parliamentary elections that took place in June.
These included requirements around setting up internal election teams, promoting official information on electoral processes, adopting measures to reduce the risk posed by generative AI and other guidelines for the smooth functioning of the democratic process.
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