The French military has banned soldiers from posting sensitive information online. However, via a number of different apps Mediapart has managed to discover the profiles of more than 800 French troops deployed abroad and the profiles of more than 200 special forces soldiers. The military's general staff meanwhile is reluctant to discuss the precise measures that have been taken to contain a problem that could put the security of military personnel and their operations at risk, especially from terrorists who target French troops abroad. Justine Brabant and Sébastien Bourdon report.
The French parliament has approved new legislation regulating the activities of under-16s who earn income as so-called “influencers” on social media, limiting the number of hours they dedicate to the role, protecting their earnings and enshrining their right to eventually remove their presence from online platforms.
The French parliament has approved legislation imposing on websites and social media the requirement to delete posts posts inciting hatred, violence, racism, and sexual harassment within 24 hours, or face a fine in each case of up to 1.25 million euros, amid concern from rights groups and opposition politicians that the new law could impede the right to free expression.
France's constitutional court has given the go-ahead for the tax administration to check scial media users' profiles, posts and pictures for evidence of undisclosed income, but that that password-protected content was off-limits and that only public information pertaining to the person divulging it online can be targeted.
A meeting in Paris on Wednesday between social media companies and leaders from several governments, as well as officials from the EU, will hear a demand from France and New Zealand that the tech firms do more to remove violent content from appearing online.
A woman died and more than 200 others were injured in France as an estimated 280,000 people joined the first day of nationwide roadblocks by a protest movement organised on social media and without apparent alliance to political parties, which began as a reaction against a tax hike on fuel costs but which has spread into a broader opposition to President Emmanuel Macron's economic policies, and notably standards of living for low-income earners.
At the start of the New Year President Emmanuel Macron told a gathering of journalists that his government was preparing a new law to clamp down on 'fake news' on social media. But already the French media are wondering whether an attack on 'fake news', however desirable, would not end up damaging freedom of information in general. Hubert Huertas looks at the pitfalls presented by the plan.
Social networks have had an enormous impact on people's daily lives. The effect of this new form of media has also been felt by the world of culture and art, and in particular the novel. In France writers have been quick to seize upon this new form of communication as an inspiration for their work. Here Christine Marcandier looks at four recent French novels that have been directly influenced by the Facebook revolution.
