Donald Trump -
Susan Walsh / AP / SIPA
Three days after the intrusion on Capitol Hill, orchestrated by pro-Trump activists, Twitter permanently deleted the US president's account.
“Regulation cannot be left to the free will of a private company”, denounce some politicians.
Others hope that this ousting of the US president will help advance the debate on the power and regulation of the Internet giants.
The decision is historic.
Twitter "permanently" suspended Donald Trump's account on Friday, two days after some of his supporters invaded the Capitol.
The social network justified this eviction by the "risk of new incitement to violence" from the American president to 88 million subscribers.
The profiles of the tenant of the White House, whose term ends on January 20, have also been suspended on other platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or Twitch.
This ban has been condemned by several political leaders.
Angela Merkel in particular considered it "problematic".
"It is possible to interfere with freedom of expression, but within the limits defined by the legislator, and not by the decision of a company management," the German Chancellor's spokesperson said Monday.
In France, the decision of the main platforms revives the debate on the power and regulation of the Internet giants.
The government "uncomfortable"
If the Elysee refuses to comment, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said Monday he was "uncomfortable" with the deletion of the US President's Twitter account, which garnered 74 million votes during the last presidential election.
“To ban a person, that is to say to silence him on social networks, which have become a form of public space, seems complicated to me, in the absence of specifically established criteria”.
“The regulation of the digital giants cannot and must not be done by the digital oligarchy itself.
It is necessary, but it must be done by States and by Justice ”, also denounced on France inter the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire.
Gabriel Attal on Trump's Twitter Ban: “I'm quite uncomfortable with this decision.” # Europe1 pic.twitter.com/17Rf30ZRGX
- Europe 1 🎧🌍📻 (@ Europe1) January 11, 2021
We find these criticisms of the hegemony of the digital giants in the opposition.
“That the Gafa allow themselves to cut the whistle of an elected president shows the disturbing slope of the power taken by these platforms.
It is up to the politician to set the standard, the framework, the rule of freedom of expression.
To renounce it is to renounce our democracy, ”assures the deputy of the National Rally Sébastien Chenu.
“Seeing the Gafa slam Donald Trump's donut may sound positive, but it is a textbook case.
In reality, regulation cannot be left to the free will of a private company, to arbitrary rules, ”points out rebellious deputy Alexis Corbière.
“Social networks now bring together millions of people [nearly 3 billion for Facebook].
They are private companies, but they have taken such a place in our lives, our social exchanges that they are also in the general interest, continues the elected LFI.
The Trump affair should reopen the debate on regulatory bodies.
"
The eviction of Trump, a "September 11 of social networks"?
Especially since the Twitter purge did not stop at Donald Trump.
The platform announced Monday that it had deleted 70,000 accounts that it considers affiliated with QAnon, a pro-Trump conspiracy movement, citing the same justifications.
“They've put their finger in something they can't get out of.
By deciding to ban Trump, Twitter opens the door to questions: why him and not another?
Next time, why won't they?
We see that we must rest a certain number of rules, and only the public authorities can do it ”, reacted on Radio Classique Cédric O, Secretary of State in charge of Digital Transition and Communications electronic.
“The position of the government, like Thierry Breton at the European level, is to plead for open governance.
Platforms should not be responsible for choosing the content or the accounts to block on their own, but finding new modes of intelligent regulation in collaboration with public authorities, civil society and independent authorities ”, assures LREM MP Mounir Mahjoubi, former Secretary of State in charge of Digital.
January 8, 2021.
This date will remain as the recognition by platforms of the responsibility for the content they convey.
They will no longer be able to escape the pretext of providing simple hosting services.
A dogma is collapsing.https: //t.co/AVBn3htFr0
- Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) January 11, 2021
The European Commissioner, who presented two European draft legislation in mid-December to try to regulate moderation practices, sees Twitter's decision as "September 11 of social networks".
For Thierry Breton, “this date will be remembered by platforms for their editorial responsibility and the content they convey […].
They will no longer be able to shirk this responsibility, ”he wrote in a column on
Le Figaro
.
Despite this ban on Donald Trump, the digital giants are still as reluctant to collaborate with the public authorities in terms of moderation: “Unfortunately, the platforms have not yet taken this path, recognizes Mounir Mahjoubi.
But the politician keeps control.
What happened with Trump will speed up the agenda in Europe and the United States, because no country is going to accept this to happen again ”.
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Why did Twitter decide to permanently ban Donald Trump's account?
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US presidential election
United States
Internet
Social networks
Censorship
Donald trump
Gafa