Here is a summary of the article:

• French President Emmanuel Macron has said the government should have the power to control social media networks during periods of unrest.

• Macron made the comments during an interview with a French TV station. He was referring to recent protests in France against the government’s cost of living policies.

• Macron said during periods of crisis, the government needs the power to “block content that goes against republican values and is clearly creating confusion and putting people’s lives at risk.”

• Critics say Macron’s call for more government control of social media raises concerns about censorship and freedom of speech.

• Opposition politicians accused Macron of attacking fundamental French freedoms and wanting to restrict the free flow of information.

• Macron countered that social media networks are already heavily regulated in France over issues like hate speech and terrorist propaganda. He argued the government needed similar powers during unrest.

    • markr@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      That sounds difficult. They would have to make a lot of exceptions in order to not shut down their economy. I’ve worked in China. Every foreign corporate building had a vpn allowed through the firewall, all the chinese workers had access to the global internet. It was a giant gushing hole. I think I asked and my chinese colleagues said that lots of chines tech companies also had global access. Now of course I also assume that the Chinese government monitored all the leaks, as they monitor everything else, as do we.