Matrix, co-founded by Matthew Hodgson in 2014 as a not-for-profit open-source initiative, has seen wide-scale adoption across Europe. The French government and the German armed forces now have hundreds of thousands of employees using Matrix-based platforms like Tchap and BwMessenger. Swiss Post has also built its own encrypted messaging system for public use, while similar deployments are underway across Sweden, the Netherlands, and the European Commission. NATO has even adopted Matrix to test secure communication alternatives under its NICE2 project.
Hodgson, who also serves as CEO of Element—a company providing Matrix-based encrypted services to governments and organizations such as France and NATO—explained that interest in Matrix has intensified following global geopolitical developments. He said European governments now view open-source software as a strategic necessity, especially after the US imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in early 2025.
The sanctions, which impacted US tech firms supporting the ICC, prompted several European institutions to reconsider their reliance on American cloud and communication services.
“We have seen first-hand that US Big Tech companies are not reliable partners,” Hodgson said. “For any country to be operationally dependent on another is a crazy risk.” He added that incidents such as the “Signalgate” scandal—where a US official accidentally shared classified information on a Signal chat—have further fueled the shift toward secure, government-controlled messaging infrastructure.
Despite this, Europe’s stance on encryption remains complex. While advocating for sovereign encrypted messaging platforms, some governments are simultaneously supporting proposals like Chat Control, which would require platforms to scan messages before encryption. Hodgson criticized such efforts, warning they could weaken global communication security and force companies like Element to withdraw from regions that mandate surveillance.
Matrix’s decentralized design offers resilience and security advantages by eliminating a single point of failure.
Unlike centralized apps such as Signal or WhatsApp, Matrix operates as a distributed network, reducing the risk of large-scale breaches. Moreover, its interoperability means that various Matrix-based apps can communicate seamlessly—enabling, for example, secure exchanges between French and German government networks.
Although early Matrix apps were considered less user-friendly, Hodgson said newer versions now rival mainstream encrypted platforms. Funding challenges have slowed development, as governments using Matrix often channel resources toward system integrators rather than the project itself.
To address this, Matrix is now sustained by a membership model and potential grant funding.
Hodgson’s long-term vision is to establish a fully peer-to-peer global communication network that operates without servers and cannot be compromised or monitored. Supported by the Dutch government, Matrix’s ongoing research into such peer-to-peer technology aims to simplify deployment further while enhancing security.
As Europe continues to invest in secure digital infrastructure, Matrix’s open standard represents a significant step toward technological independence and privacy preservation.
By embracing decentralized communication, European governments are asserting control over their data, reducing foreign dependence, and reshaping the future of secure messaging in an increasingly uncertain geopolitical landscape.
