The Americans Microsoft, Meta and the Chinese social network TikTok are among the players invited to the Élysée on Thursday, November 10.
How to strengthen the protection of minors online? Emmanuel Macron will bring together the main tech players on Thursday, November 10 at the Élysée Palace to address this thorny issue, alongside several heads of state and non-governmental associations (NGOs), learned Le Figaro.
The Americans Microsoft, represented by its president Brad Smith and Meta, which should be represented by its president of public affairs Nick Clegg, Amazon, which owns the live streaming platform Twitch, the video platform Dailymotion and the Chinese social network TikTok have all answered present at the invitation of the French president. The social network Twitter, which was bought a few days ago by businessman Elon Musk, has not yet been invited.
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An initiative announced Thursday
Among the NGOs, WeProtect, Standup the children, Point de Contact and E-Enfance have also confirmed their presence. Estonian President Alar Karis and Argentinian President Alberto Fernàndez are also expected to attend, along with a representative from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). For her part, the Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern recorded a video for the occasion.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Emmanuel Macron will announce Thursday afternoon the launch of a major international initiative, led by France, on online child protection. These announcements are made in the continuity of the call “Standup for Children”, launched at the initiative of France and UNICEF in 2021, on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum. The event will be followed in the evening by a dinner at the Élysée, where Emmanuel Macron this time invited several academics, including Camille François, specialist in questions of content moderation, cyberbullying and online disinformation.
Strengthening the fight against terrorist content accessible online to minors will be one of the main areas discussed during the meeting at the Élysée. Since 2022, eight of the attacks foiled by the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI) were the work of minors who became radicalized on the Internet.
Other topics of discussion at the Élysée, the proliferation of child pornography content on online platforms and the exposure of minors to pornographic sites. Since 2020 in France, a law is supposed to prevent people under 18 from accessing adult sites. In practice, however, no solution has yet been found. Secretary of State for Children Charlotte Caubel explained last week to the National Assembly that the government was now considering imposing the use of a bank card as a filter for watching porn online.
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