France is to become the first country in the world to shut down alleged ‘fake news’ websites and social media accounts if they are suspected of interfering with democratic elections.
In a move that will be watched closely in the UK, President Emmanuel Macron said dishonest outlets should not be allowed to influence public opinion.
Instead, victims including politicians will be able to apply to courts to have sites and accounts erased from the Internet.
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President Macron said social media providers will be obliged to be transparent
‘If we want to protect liberal democracies, we must have strong legislation,’ said Mr Macron, during his first Paris press conference of 2018.
‘When fake news is spread, it will be possibleto go to a judge and if appropriate have content taken down, user accounts deleted and ultimately websites blocked.’
Mr Macron added: ‘Platforms will have more transparency obligations imposed on them regarding sponsored content, making the identity of sponsors and those who control them public.’
The President said there would also be strict ‘limits on the amount’ of sponsored content, and more power would be given to the CSA, France’s media watchdog.
He insisted that press freedom would not be threatened, because the laws would only apply during elections.
However, there is sure to be a backlash from those who believe that the media should be free from political control.
The French legislation is yet to be finalised, but deciding on what is or is not fake news is bound to be the main problem.
Mr Macron’s announcement follows his own presidential election campaign last year being plagued by Russian hackers and pseudo-journalists.
The French leader met Vladimir Putin soon after he took office and directly accused the Russian leader of spreading fake news about him
He has been particularly critical of Russian media, openly accusing it of spreading lies about him on websites and social media.
In a meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin after his win in which he referenced Moscow outlets, Mr Macron said: ‘I will not give an inch on this.
‘During the campaign, Russia Today and Sputnik were agents of influence which on several occasions spread fake news about me personally, and about my campaign.’
Mr Macron’s campaign was also hit with a last minute email leak by suspected Russian hackers who stole thousands of classified documents and dumped them online.
Russian fake news journalists and bots are also said to have influenced Donald Trump’s election as American president in 2016, and to have interfered with the Brexit vote in Britain in the same year.
The EU has launched anaction committee to draft rules at combatting fake news, but no legislation iscurrently in place.
President Trump is oneof the most outspoken critics of fake news, although like most politicians heis also regularly accused of lying himself in a bid to influence voters.