Social networks were failing during the urban violence that France experienced last week. This is the observation of the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, who, in an interview with Franceinfo on July 10, warned the main platforms: in the context of the entry into force, on August 25, of the legislation on digital services (Digital Services Act, or DSA), will now have the obligation, “at the moment”, to eliminate “hateful content or that calls, for example, to rebel or kill,” said Thierry Breton.
Specifically, these platforms will be prohibited from operating on French territory in case of non-compliance with these rules. And according to Thierry Breton, “we are now equipped for this with specific advice”.
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This statement comes as sometimes violent content was widely broadcast on Snapchat, TikTok and others during four nights of riots in France following the death of the young Nahel, shot dead by a police officer.
In this context, social networks were particularly used during the nights of riots. In response, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, had mentioned, in front of the mayors whose cities had been affected by the riots, the possibility of blocking social networks to limit the scale of the concentrations. A scenario quickly tempered by the government, starting with the Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, as well as the spokesperson Olivier Véran.
For Thierry Breton, the DSA should put an end to the excesses observed so far. The text, which should allow greater moderation, more transparency and better protection of rights on the internet, points to Gafam (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft), but also to Twitter, AliExpress or TikTok.
The obligations are proportional to the size of the companies, with a maximum requirement for those that drain more than 45 million European users. Sanctions can go up to a fine equivalent to 6% of the billing in the event of repeated offences.
Source: BFM TV
