French President Emmanuel Macron warned Friday that Europe has been “too weak and too naive” in confronting foreign interference and online disinformation.
Speaking at the high-profile Munich Security Conference, Macron said unregulated digital platforms allow harmful and manipulative narratives to go unchecked and warned that foreign interference poses a security risk in elections.
“We are opening the Pandora box and allowing a lot of hate of speech in these platforms and social media. We are too weak and too naive vis-à-vis external interferences and foreign differences,” Macron said. “No doubt, we should forbid the capacity of these guys to interfere in our public space, and we should ask this platform first to completely block trolls bots.”
Macron called for stricter enforcement of the European Union’s Digital Services Act, including requirements for algorithmic transparency and stronger action against bot networks and coordinated manipulation campaigns.
He said platforms must take responsibility for removing illegal content and blocking organized foreign interference.
France has taken an assertive approach toward regulating major tech platforms, including investigations in compliance with EU digital rules.
Earlier this month, Parisian officials conducted a search of facilities connected to Elon Musk’s X as part of an investigation into regulatory obligations.
Investigators from the Paris prosecutor’s cybercrime unit, with the support of the EU’s police agency Europol, executed the search as part of an inquiry into possible “complicity” in possessing and spreading child sexual abuse material and other unlawful content on the platform.
Macron’s remarks come amid friction between American tech companies and consumers and the European regulators of the Digital Services Act. The act requires large platforms to assess systemic risks, increase transparency around algorithms, and remove illegal content more aggressively.
Consumers Defense released a report last month that highlighted how EU regulations hone in on American companies by implementing hidden taxes targeting U.S. companies and EU censorship affecting U.S. speech, all while letting China off the hook.
During his speech, Macron also spoke on the war in Ukraine. He mainly echoed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s remarks earlier in the day and said Europe has to have a seat at the table in peace talks. “No peace without Europeans,” Macron said.
Merz’s speech focused on improving U.S.-European relations and said the trans-Atlantic trust should be repaired.
European unity and long-term security guarantees for Ukraine were deemed of utmost importance by both Merz and Macron.
FRIEDRICH MERZ WARNS US ‘NOT STRONG ENOUGH’ TO AXE EUROPEAN ALLIANCES IN MUNICH SPEECH
Macron reinforced a broader message that Europe must assert itself more forcefully, both in defense and in the economy, as Russia will always be its neighbor.
“Our geography won’t change,” Macron said.