Social Media: "We cannot be allowed to make racist or anti-Semitic remarks," says Aurore Bergé

The minister wants social media to assume the same chain of responsibility as television channels when inappropriate comments are made on them.

"We cannot be given a license to make racist or anti-Semitic remarks," Aurore Bergé, Minister for Gender Equality and the Fight against Discrimination, declared on franceinfo on Tuesday, June 3. On Monday, she demanded that social media present her with "clear rules" regarding the banning of users who disseminate problematic content, reminding them of their obligation to moderate their content and brandishing the threat of sanctions.

Large digital companies have long been "considered as mere technical hosts," and therefore "clearly, they were not responsible for anything and they sided with this irresponsibility by saying 'it's not us, it's the men and women who publish content,'" explains the minister. But today, "they can no longer sided with irresponsibility and we need clear rules. We cannot have a license to make racist or anti-Semitic remarks," she asserts.

The minister directly attacks the responsibility of these social networks, whether Meta (Facebook and Instagram), TikTok, X, or Twitch. "We have moderation that is particularly flawed. You only have to go to any of these platforms to see thousands of accounts inciting hatred, racism, anti-Semitism, LGBT hatred, cyberbullying against our children and adolescents, violence against women," the minister points out. During Monday's meeting, "I confronted them with content," but she did not get the answers she hoped for. "I told them, 'You have been summoned by a minister of the Republic, and you are incapable of getting clear answers,'" reports Aurore Bergé.

She wants rules on social media that are similar to those in force in the audiovisual sector. "On a television set, if you have a guest who professes hatred, if you don't stop them immediately, it's you who will be blamed, it's the channel that will be blamed. We must have the same thing on the platforms," ​​argues the minister, who also wants to implement a "double authentication" system for registering on a social network, "with verification of an identity card or bank card," particularly when pornographic content is accessible.

"My topic is not moral," she insists. "When you have videos where we see women being hit, slapped, having chairs thrown at them in front of children, in front of babies, there is no doubt that this violates the legal framework," the Macronist minister protests, calling on platforms to ensure that these influencers no longer have "any monetization possible, and that they therefore lose all their income from the moment there is serious doubt about the content they broadcast."

"Clean up, because if you don't clean up, we'll impose sanctions," she sums up the message she wants to convey. Aurore Bergé points out that sanctions can go as high as "6% of global turnover" and "we can change the legal framework," notably to advocate for a "digital majority of 15." She asserts that France is beginning to be joined on this issue "by many countries."