The platform seeks to offer an alternative to conventional social media networks by emphasizing knowledge-based interaction, structured political and social dialogue, privacy, and the translation of online participation into community and institutional action.
Kassis said the idea grew out of concerns over the dominance of the “attention economy” on major social media platforms, where algorithms frequently reward rapid, provocative and polarizing content over substantive analysis and informed debate.
“We are not competing for users’ attention; we are competing to earn the respect of their minds,” Kassis said.
Parallel Globe is designed as a digital environment bringing together individual citizens, public figures, political parties, universities, research centres, media organisations, civil society groups and public institutions. According to the platform, access rights and functions differ according to the type of account rather than the political orientation of the user or organisation.
Individual users can publish articles and ideas, participate in discussions and take part in polls, while institutions can establish what the platform describes as digital headquarters through which they can manage content, memberships, debates and initiatives.
The platform incorporates several specialised tools. PoliticTalk is designed for political discussions, seminars and public dialogue, while CipherCall provides encrypted communications and virtual meetings. Another tool, Search & Act, is intended to help users identify expertise and talent, create working groups and develop initiatives.
Kassis said one of the project’s central objectives is to prevent digital political participation from ending with comments, reactions or online polls. Instead, she said, the platform aims to provide mechanisms through which ideas emerging from discussions can develop into communities, working teams and practical initiatives.
Public authorities could also use Parallel Globe to consult citizens, discuss proposed legislation, development plans and administrative decisions, and conduct opinion polls, according to Kassis.
She stressed, however, that such digital participation cannot replace established political or constitutional mechanisms.
“Democracy is not built on applications, but on institutions,” she said, adding that the platform does not claim to confer political legitimacy on decisions reached through its tools.
On political neutrality, Kassis said governments, opposition movements, political organisations and individual citizens would all operate under the same rules. She described the platform’s Digital Licence as a mechanism for verifying identity and regulating activity within Parallel Globe rather than a form of political or legal recognition.
The company also says it has adopted a data-minimisation policy and that its business model will not depend on selling users’ personal information or commercially exploiting their political preferences for targeted advertising.
Kassis said Parallel Globe’s principal digital infrastructure is based in Iceland, while the infrastructure supporting CipherCall is hosted in Switzerland. Communications conducted through CipherCall are end-to-end encrypted, she said, adding that the company is seeking an independent assessment of its security systems.
The platform has also introduced mechanisms aimed at limiting coordinated inauthentic behaviour, including organised troll networks and attempts by clusters of unverified accounts to artificially amplify content or political narratives.
Artificial intelligence is being used for monitoring and analytical functions, while final moderation and enforcement decisions remain subject to human review, according to the platform.
Kassis said the project had so far been financed by its founders, while a longer-term business model remains under development.
Parallel Globe is currently in a soft-launch phase, with its tools being tested by an initial group of individual users and organisations before wider expansion.
Kassis said the project’s performance would not be judged simply by the number of registered accounts. More important indicators, she argued, would include sustained use of the platform, the quality of its content and debates, the creation of functioning communities and initiatives, and its ability to preserve privacy and political neutrality as it expands.
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