Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is reportedly giving a hard look at building its own take on the digital town square.
The Facebook parent is exploring creating a stand-alone app for text updates that would serve as a rival to Twitter (TWTR), which is now several months into a tenure as a private company under the control of billionaire Elon Musk, according to Reuters.
“We’re exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates,” a spokeperson told the news service. “We believe there’s an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests.”
Unlike Twitter, Meta would base its app on a decentralized platform like Mastodon, a free and open-source Twitter-like service that saw a surge in users in the fall after Musk took over Twitter and began implementing changes to the platform.
That would echo the move former President Donald Trump made in launching his Truth Social network, also based on Mastodon code.