French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday pleaded with social media networks for their decision to “suddenly cut off the microphone” once they were sure Donald Trump would leave power, especially since their President Trump would effectively “during the presidency” abandon.
Why it matters: At a Atlantic Council forum, Macron said the decisions to ban Trump through platforms such as Twitter and Facebook may have made sense in the short term, but did not provide a ‘democratic response’. Other world leaders such as German Angela Merkel have previously raised similar concerns.
What he says: Macron added that ‘big technology’ killed all the platforms where it was possible [Trump] and his supporters to express themselves. ‘
‘I do not want to live in a democracy where the most important decisions … are made by a private player, a private social network. I want it to be decided by a law voted by your representative, or by regulation, governance, democratically discussed and approved by democratic leaders. ”
– Macron
Between the lines: Apple and Google removed Parler from their app stores, and Amazon canceled hosting services for the platform, which was popular on the right. Pro-Trump channels or content have also been removed by Reddit, TikTok and others.
The whole picture: Macron blames social media platforms for inciting political violence in France and the US, noting that they are being used to “promote the same demonstrations” that eventually led to Trump’s ban.
- “The new violence in our democracies, largely linked to these social networks”, is now ‘our new way of life’, Macron said.