"There is no question of putting an end to the freedom of press, freedom of speech, silencing the opposition and critics… There is a lot of false information in social networks. Out of 30 most cited online publications of the Liberation newspaper, more than 20 turned out to be false," Griveaux said, as aired by the BFMTV broadcaster.
The bill proposed by the French president was strongly criticized by France’s right-wing National Front party leader Marine Le Pen, who accused the government of attempting to control the freedom of speech on the Internet and silencing French citizens. The politician also questioned the procedure of identifying whether the information was true or false.
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On Wednesday, Macron said that he would like to have a new law on social media, as a precaution against fake news on the Internet. He added that the bill, aimed at the fight against the spread of false information during election campaigns, would be drafted within the next few weeks.