Emmanuel Macron Takes On US Tech Giants

French President Emmanuel Macron gave a blunt assessment of the free speech defense of social media platforms today, telling a gathering in New Delhi that it’s “pure bullshit.”

“Free speech is pure bullshit if nobody knows how you are guided to this so-called free speech, especially when it is guided from one hate speech to another,” the Macron said on a three-day visit to the Indian capital.

He spoke as the idea of a social media ban for kids gains traction in the UK and across the European Union. The policy was first implemented in Australia, encompassing Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, Snap, Elon Musk’s X, TikTok and Google’s YouTube.