马克龙一个提议，激起轩然大波
据7月5日报道，法国总统马克龙7月4日表示，如果近期骚乱出现失控，切断对Snapchat和TikTok等社交媒体平台的访问可能会成为一个应对选项。
对此言论，法国政府官员随后出面“淡化”，指出马克龙只是表示这一做法在技术上可行，并未明确表示正在考虑此做法。同时，法国政府在骚乱期间同社交媒体平台方讨论时，也没有提及这一选项，目前可能仅会“暂时暂停一些地理定位功能”。
不过，马克龙的这番话还引来了法国政界的批评声浪，一些人就抨击其提到的做法是“专制主义”，此举是在“反对民主”。
“政客新闻网”欧洲版报道截图
据报道，马克龙4日在爱丽舍宫与大约250名处于骚乱中的城市的市长举行会议时表示：“我们需要考虑年轻人对这些网络的使用……以及需要实施的禁令。我说得很清楚，因为这些改变了年轻人与现实的关系。”
“当事情失控时，（我们需要考虑）我们所作的决定，包括行政决定，这样在某个时候我们可以说，我们有能力监管或切断它们。重要的是不要在最激烈的时刻这样做，我很高兴我们不必这样做，但当事情冷却下来时，我们需要进行真正的辩论。”马克龙补充道。
7月2日，法国巴黎凯旋门附近，警方加强安保巡逻。图自澎湃影像
5日，法国政府官员试图淡化马克龙关于可能在骚乱期间切断社交媒体的言论。法国数字部长团队的一名不具名官员告诉“政客新闻网”欧洲版，马克龙只是说技术上有可能这样做，但并没有说正在考虑，原则上不应该排除任何可能性。
这位官员补充说，上周五（6月30日），法国政府与社交媒体平台方面会面，谈论到骚乱期间的内容审核和与司法系统的合作时，没有与平台方讨论（切断）这一选项。法国数字部长吉恩-诺埃尔·巴罗（Jean-Noël Barrot）4日晚间则表示，行政部门对科技公司在删除内容、封锁账号和向执法部门提供信息方面的反应感到满意。
在5日的新闻发布会上，当被问及马克龙的言论时，法国政府发言人奥利维尔·维兰（Olivier Véran）表示，政府可能会暂时“暂停一些功能，比如地理定位，让用户找到自己在哪里，展示哪里的场景等”。据报道，Snapchat应用中的地图工具被一些暴乱者广泛使用。
同时，马克龙的言论也招致了包括其盟友在内的整个法国政界的批评，有人批评他所提到的做法是“专制主义”，而其政党复兴党的议员埃里克·博托雷尔（Eric Bothorel）也公开反对这一“潜在的举措”，认为此举是“放弃民主”。
据报道，在此次骚乱发生后，一些法国议员本周已经试图在对法国有关科技法案进行投票时，收紧对社交媒体平台的限制，该法案目前正在议会讨论中。
7月4日，马克龙在爱丽舍宫与市长们会面。图自澎湃影像
在4日同众多市长开会时，马克龙表示，法国骚乱“高峰期”已过去，但至于是否会永久恢复平静，仍需保持谨慎。他前一天夜里突访巴黎警察总部时则表示，在7月13日或14日——也就是法国国庆节前夕和当天，甚至是未来几个月，这个国家仍将面临考验。
马克龙4日还宣布了一项“紧急立法”，以加快重建在骚乱事件中受损的公共基础设施。
根据法国内政部4日公布的数据，在过去24小时里，法国城市的夜间暴力事件在过去24小时里减少了一半，数十座建筑物遭到破坏，包括四个警察或宪兵办公室遇袭，但没有造成人员伤亡；超过150辆汽车被点燃，数百起垃圾箱或其他公共区域遭纵火。
内政部称，自6月27日骚乱开始以来，全法共有5900辆车被烧毁，1100栋建筑受到不同程度破坏，共记录到270次针对警察局和宪兵队的攻击。法国执法部门共逮捕了3490人。
Macron's call to 'cut off' social media during riots sparks backlash in France
President Emmanuel Macron's government faced a backlash Wednesday after the centrist leader called for powers to "cut off" social media in case of widespread violence like riots over the past week.
French President Emmanuel Macron addresses mayors of cities affected by the violent clashes that erupted after a teen was shot dead by police last week during a meeting at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris, July 4, 2023. © Ludovic Marin, AP
Macron and his ministers have singled out platforms like Snapchat, TikTok and encrypted messenger Telegram for their role in spreading images of the nights of violence following the June 27 police shooting of a 17-year-old teenager, Nahel M.
"When (social media) becomes a tool for organising or for attempting to kill, it's a real problem," Macron said.
"This is worrying, when we reach the point of saying the only solution is cutting off social networks, you ask yourself what point we've reached" in France, Greens leader Marine Tondelier told broadcaster France Inter Wednesday.
Other opposition politicians from left and right had attacked the proposal, with hard-left France Unbowed chief Mathilde Panot responding to Macron in a tweet with "Ok Kim Jong-Un", referring to the leader of sealed-off North Korea.
Ok Kim Jung-Un. https://t.co/Y8Jzjp0DzJ
— Mathilde Panot (@MathildePanot) July 4, 2023
"Cut off social networks? Like China, Iran or North Korea? Even if it's a provocation to distract attention, it's in very bad taste," conservative parliamentary chief Olivier Marleix also wrote on Twitter.
Some voices were even raised within Macron's parliamentary camp, with MP Eric Bothorel writing that to cut off social networks would mean "giving up on the idea that democracy is stronger than the tools turned against it. It would be a mistake."
Digital Transition Minister Jean-Noel Barrot's office on Wednesday told France Inter that cutting off social networks was "not on the table".
A working group would examine possible "legal tools" and "precisions" that could be added, he told reporters.
"That could mean suspending features... for example some platforms have geolocation features allowing young people to meet at a certain spot, showing (violent) scenes and how to start fires," Veran said.
"That's an appeal to organise hateful acts in public and we'd have the authority to suspend it".
(AFP)
Macron floats social media cuts during riots
https://www.politico.eu/article/macron-mulls-cutting-access-social-media-during-riots/
French president’s remarks drew comparisons to authoritarian regimes — and the government is already trying to backpedal.
BY LAURA KAYALI AND ELISA BERTHOLOMEY JULY 5, 2023
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron told mayors on Tuesday that one option when riots are out of control could be to cut access to social media platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok, according to footage of his speech seen by POLITICO.
"We need to think about the use of these networks by the youth ... and about the bans that need to be put in place. And I say this very clearly, because they change the way young people relate to reality," Macron said at a gathering at the Elysée Palace with some 250 mayors of cities targeted during the riots.
"And [we need to think about] the decisions we make, including administrative decisions, when things get out of hand, so that at some point we can say we're in a position to regulate or cut them off. It's important not to do it in the heat of the moment, and I'm glad we didn't have to, but it's a real debate we need to have when things cool down," he added.
French news channel BFMTV first reported on the president's comments, which attracted criticism for echoing measures taken by authoritarian regimes such as China and Iran.
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The killing of a 17-year-old of North African descent by a police officer last week threw France into chaos, sparking violent demonstrations across the country and reigniting long-simmering tensions between youths and the police, who have been accused of brutality and racial discrimination. In the past week, rioters have looted stores, targeted schools, police stations, libraries and other public buildings.
Last week, Macron blamed social media platforms and video games for adding fuel to the fire.
Backpedaling
On Wednesday, the French government tried to downplay Macron's remarks about potentially cutting social media during unrest.
"The president said it was technically possible, but not that it was being considered. Nothing should be ruled out on principle," a French official from Digital Minister Jean-Noël Barrot's team, who was granted anonymity as they're not allowed to speak publicly, told POLITICO.
The government didn't discuss the option with platforms when they met on Friday to talk about content moderation and cooperation with the justice system during the turmoil, the official added. Barrot told senators Tuesday evening that the executive branch was satisfied with the tech companies' reactivity in removing content, blocking accounts and providing information to law enforcement.
Asked about Macron's comments during a press conference on Wednesday, government spokesman Olivier Véran said there could be temporary "suspensions of functionalities, such as geolocation, which allows users to find themselves in such and such a place, to show such and such a scene." Snapchat's mapping tool was reportedly widely used by rioters to organize themselves.
Macron's remarks on potential social media cuts drew criticism from across the political spectrum, including from his own allies. Leaders from the Socialists and the conservative party Les Républicains made comparisons with authoritarian regimes such as Iran, China and Russia. "OK Kim Jong Un," tweeted MP Mathilde Panot from the left-wing France Unbowed.
Eric Bothorel, an MP from Macron's Renaissance party who works on tech policy, also spoke out against the potential clampdown. "This would mean abandoning the idea that democracy is stronger than the tools used against it. That would be a mistake," he tweeted.
Violence erupted last week after a 17-year-old boy, named as Nahel M., was shot dead by police | Christophe Simon/AFP via Getty Images
France has endorsed several U.N. resolutions condemning internet cuts by governments, including one in 2021 against "using internet shutdowns to intentionally and arbitrarily prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online."
In the wake of the riots, some French lawmakers this week have tried to tighten the screws on social media platforms during votes on France's tech bill, which is currently under discussion in the parliament.
Senator Patrick Chaize from Les Républicains has pushed for online platforms to remove violent content flagged by the authorities within two hours when the country is plagued by riots or social movements. He agreed to withdraw his amendment but made the government promise rules for social media during riots would be reworked and presented at the National Assembly in the fall.
Océane Herrero contributed reporting.
