Danes turn to local tech platforms amid Trump’s Greenland threats

By Necva Tastan Sevinc

ISTANBUL (AA) - A growing number of Danes are turning to local and European digital platforms following renewed statements by US President Donald Trump to take over Greenland.

Several small technology companies in Denmark and Norway say user numbers have surged over the past year, particularly since Trump returned to office in January 2025 and reiterated his interest in the Arctic island, Danish public broadcaster DR reported on Sunday.

The Danish communication app Oase reported gaining more than 5,200 new users since the start of this year, around 10 times its previous daily average, according to its founder Anders Lemke-Holstein.

“The interest is greater now than it has ever been,” he said, adding that communities, associations and families are increasingly looking for alternatives to Facebook and other US-based platforms.

Another Danish social media platform, SOCii, said it has seen a 20% increase in users since January, many of them former Facebook users.

“They write things like ‘so Facebook went away’ or ‘I closed my account,’” said founder Kim Domino Evers.

Data ethics adviser Pernille Tranberg said Trump’s political posture has triggered “massive interest” in alternatives to major technology firms, exceeding previous spikes linked to EU privacy debates.

She warned that American technology companies collect extensive personal data. “Google knows what floor you are on. And if you take your phone to the toilet, it knows how long you are there.”

Denmark’s cybersecurity council chairman Jacob Herbst said targeted US sanctions against individuals or companies linked to Greenland or green technology could not be ruled out, though most citizens were unlikely to lose access to digital services.

The Danish government has also moved to reduce dependence on major technology firms, allocating 80 million kroner ($11.6 million) to support alternative digital solutions.

Interest has also risen in the privacy-focused Vivaldi browser, developed by a Norwegian-Icelandic company, which said its number of users in Denmark has doubled over the past year, though Google Chrome still dominates the market.