The spokesperson for the French government, Olivier Véran, announced on Wednesday that the government intends to form a parliamentary group consisting of different political parties to consider imposing restrictions on social media in cases of collective rioting.
Véran explained, “We want a bipartisan working group that includes members from all political movements in both houses of parliament to collectively review amendments to the draft law, which was presented to the Council of Ministers a few weeks ago, addressing cybersecurity and the use of digital platforms.”
He further added that during instances of rioting, several features of social media platforms could be disabled, such as geopositioning, which “allows users to gather in a specific location and share their locations”.
The spokesperson noted that during recent disturbances, which have now subsided, the government requested social media platforms to remove posts that could incite violence and immediately prevent users from concealing their identities when crimes occur.
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron indicated the possibility of shutting down social networks if the situation in the country deteriorates.
Last week, police fired shots and killed a 17-year-old teenager who allegedly refused to comply with police orders, sparking a wave of protests that escalated into riots and looting in several French cities.
The French Ministry of Interior reported hundreds of arrests of troublemakers and dozens of police officers injured on a daily basis throughout the week.
