France is set to fight back against the tide of so-called fake news with a law in 2018 aimed at protecting liberal democracy. Macron made the announcement during a New Year's address to the press corps at the Elysee Palace in Paris.
"I have decided that we will change our legal system to protect democratic life from this fake news," Macron said on Wednesday evening. "During the election period, on the internet, content will no longer have exactly the same rules," he said.
Law to target Social Media
The French president said the new law would be brought in before the end of the year. He wants the law to target social media and force online platforms to increase transparency sponsored content. It will allow content to be taken down and sites to be blocked if necessary.
Macron vows to tighten media control because 'fake news threatens democracy' (Reuters).
“The freedom of the press is not a special freedom, it is the highest expression of freedom,” said Mr Macron. “If we want to protect liberal democracies, we have to be strong and have clear rules.”
The proposed legislation would allow for "content to be taken down, user accounts deleted and websites blocked if needed," he added.
So-called fake news, often spread by social media, has become an increasing problem in the political process, with elections in the UK, France and the US targeted by disinformation campaigns — for commercial or more overtly political reasons.
Macron has been highly critical of Russian media in particular, openly accusing TV channel RT of sowing disinformation about him via its website and social media during the 2017 French presidential election.
Leave your comments
Login to post a comment
Post comment as a guest