Macron in hot water over social media threat
@ 2023/07/07Stopping social media to prevent unrest misses the point
Emmanuel Macron is facing a backlash after threatening to cut off social media networks to stop the spread of violence during unrest.
"We need to think about how young people use social networks, in the family, at school, the interdictions there should be ... and when things get out of hand, we may have to regulate them or cut them off," Macron told a meeting of more than 250 mayors, whose municipalities were hit by the violence.
Elysee officials and government ministers responded by insisting the president was not threatening a "general blackout" but instead the "occasional and temporary" suspension of platforms.
The president's comments came as ministers blamed young people using social media such as Snapchat and TikTok for organising and encouraging rioting and violence after the shooting death of a teenager during a police traffic stop in a Paris suburb last week.
Emmanuel Macron is facing a backlash after threatening to cut off social media networks to stop the spread of violence during unrest.
"We need to think about how young people use social networks, in the family, at school, the interdictions there should be ... and when things get out of hand, we may have to regulate them or cut them off," Macron told a meeting of more than 250 mayors, whose municipalities were hit by the violence.
Elysee officials and government ministers responded by insisting the president was not threatening a "general blackout" but instead the "occasional and temporary" suspension of platforms.
The president's comments came as ministers blamed young people using social media such as Snapchat and TikTok for organising and encouraging rioting and violence after the shooting death of a teenager during a police traffic stop in a Paris suburb last week.