President Emmanuel Macron and the French government point the finger at the responsibility of platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat in the outbreak of the riots which occurred all over the country after the death of Nahel in Nanterre.
Riots broke out in several cities in France after the death of Nahel, 17, who was shot and killed in Nanterre by a police officer after refusing to comply while driving a car without a license. Faced with the scale and intensity of these movements, President Emmanuel Macron spoke to announce various measures, but also to comment on the role of certain social networks such as TikTok and Snapchat.
LIVE | Chairman’s statement @EmmanuelMacron after a meeting at the interministerial crisis center of the Ministry of the Interior. https://t.co/mjl5vxCjUo
— Elysee (@Elysee) June 30, 2023
“A considerable role” in the riots
From the interministerial crisis center of the Ministry of the Interior and in the presence of several members of the government, Emmanuel Macron affirmed that ” platforms and social networks play a considerable role in the movements of the last days. We have seen on several of them – Snapchat, TikTok and several others – both the organization of violent movements taking place, but also a form of mimicry of violence “.
We will take in the next few hours, and we have started to organize it, several arrangements. First, in conjunction with these platforms, to organize the removal of the most sensitive content. And therefore the State services will organize themselves in conjunction with these platforms in order to be able to obtain an effective response. And I expect from these platforms the spirit of responsibility. Requests will also be made wherever it is useful, and each time it is useful, to have the identity of those who use these social networks to call for disorder or to exacerbate violence.
Remarks supported by the Minister of Justice, Éric Dupont-Moretti. At the microphone of BFMthe Keeper of the Seals accuses ” Snapchat-like operators “to be” the vectors between the young people allowing to exchange the meeting place, the place, in reality, of the exactions to come “. And to underline the fact that, on judicial requisition, it is possible to ” find their IP address and, of course, their identity “.
BFM recalls, however, that Snapchat and TikTok are based abroad and may, in this regard, decide not to satisfy all the requests of the French authorities. Finally, it should be noted that President Emmanuel Macron also pointed the finger ” a form of output from reality among younger people. ” We have the feeling that some of them live on the streets the video games that have addicted them “. Clumsy and misleading remarks that were quickly criticized.
Want to join a community of enthusiasts? Our Discord welcomes you, it’s a place of mutual aid and passion around tech.