Macron in France is calling for social media regulation to counter ‘threat to democracy’

The French leader chided technology companies – without naming them – for providing former President Donald Trump with a platform for years to “ spread hatred ” before taking action. Twitter Inc.

banned Mr. Trump’s personal account in the wake of the January 6 Capitol uprising, citing the risk of further incitement to violence. Facebook Inc.

announced a temporary suspension of Mr. Trump after the riot, before that action was extended indefinitely.

“All who succeeded President Trump waited until they were completely sure he had no more power, then wrapped himself up with dignity and now say, ‘Let’s take his whistle away,’” Macron said. “Why didn’t they close his accounts before all this happened?”

Mr Macron said governments had delegated too much authority to technology companies by expecting them to act as stewards of Western democracy. “This is a problem for true international regulation,” said Mr Macron.

The French leader delivered the comments in his first meeting with the international media since contracting the coronavirus in late December. Mr. Macron sat in a gilded ballroom in the center of a table that spanned the room, wearing a black turtleneck sweater.

An antique mechanical clock ticked as Mr. Macron became philosophical about how Western democracies under the influence of social media underwent a “form of anthropological mutation”.

Mr Macron said it was shocking to see images of an extremist dressed in a far-right costume in the Capitol “in the heart of power”.

“But the spread of this image has the effect of replication – like the virus,” said Mr. Macron, referring to the pathogen that causes Covid-19.

Mr Macron said France is grappling with similar upheavals, from the yellow vest protest movement to the years of struggle with Islamic terrorism. In October, a high school teacher was beheaded after class by an 18-year-old Russian of Chechen descent. The attacker went to the school after watching a video on social media of a Muslim parent who denounced the teacher for showing his classroom cartoons of the prophet Mohammed from the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

In recent months, the Macron government has closed mosques and other associations it suspects practice “Islamist separatism,” which Mr Macron sees as an ongoing campaign by religious extremists to undermine the institutions of the French Republic. Opponents of the crackdown have accused Mr Macron of stigmatizing the French Muslim community, which is one of the largest in Europe.

Mr Macron said he was acting in defense of France’s model of citizenship. What makes a person French, he said, is the acceptance of reason, freedom and other values ​​from the 18th century Enlightenment era.

Islamist ideologues are trying to drive a wedge between members of the French Muslim community and the French state, Macron said, adding that the French sometimes compromise their Republican values ​​out of sensitivity to religious belief.

“We have a real crisis in the French integration model,” said Mr Macron. “Political correctness today has endangered the primacy of the citizen over the believer.”

Mr Macron also weighed in on tensions in the Middle East, saying France could play a role in involving regional powers such as Israel and Saudi Arabia to support any attempt to revive the 2015 international accord to curb Iran’s nuclear program. In 2018, Mr Trump withdrew the US from the agreement, further hampering its implementation.

Mr Macron said time is running out as Iran will hold presidential elections in June. “There is a chance between now and the elections. I think we should take it. “

Write to Stacy Meichtry at [email protected] and Noemie Bisserbe at [email protected]