Temporary block for websites accused of spreading fake news and prohibition of mobile phones in the classroom for school children. With two bills, French President Emmanuel Macron tries to keep the electoral promises on digital information and education. While the first reading by the National Assembly has arrived on the provision that prohibits mobile phones at school, the most controversial is the progression on the presidential proposal regarding the fight against fake news. The text provides that in the three months before the elections a judge can block the spread of a news deemed unfounded, with 48 hours to evaluate the truth or not. In the affirmative case, it would also be possible to temporarily deactivate the site that broadcast it or remove the permission to transmit to the TV that has taken it back. The provision is strongly desired by the Elysium tenant, who during the electoral campaign of the presidential elections had been subject to attacks based on news that were then revealed as false, such as the accusation of having an offshore account in the Bahamas or as a homosexuality , news disseminated by sites such as the information agency Sputnik, which operates under the control of the Russian federation.
As pointed out Naima Moutchou, deputy of the République en Marche, the macronist party that has an absolute majority in parliament, the goal is "to neutralize attempts at destabilization, especially from abroad", and "the viral spread of false information". But the main French journalists' unions sound the alarm, calling the measures ineffective and potentially dangerous, and could lead to censorship. The provision also provides for the imposition, before the elections, of an "increased transparency" for platforms such as Facebook and Twitter if they publish sponsored messages with political content. The parliamentary process of the law promises to be long and difficult. To date, in Europe only Germany has introduced anti-fake news legislation, but less restrictive than that under discussion at the National Assembly in Paris.