‘Free speech is pure bulls**t’ – Macron

The French president has demanded transparency from social media platforms on how their algorithms operate

French President Emmanuel Macron has dismissed the arguments of social media platforms in favor of free speech as “pure bulls**t,” calling for total transparency in how algorithms shape online discourse.

Speaking in New Delhi on Wednesday, Macron argued that algorithmic bias carries “huge” democratic consequences, stating that people have “no clue about how the algorithm is made, how it is tested, how it is trained, and where it will guide you.”

“Some of them claim to be in favor of free speech. We are in favor of free algorithms – totally transparent,” he said. “Free speech is pure bulls**t if nobody knows how you are guided through this so-called free speech, especially when it is guided from one hate speech to another.”

Macron insisted on a “transparent road” and maintaining “public order” on social media, stating that “I want to avoid racist speech and hate speech.”

The remarks come amid rising tensions between the EU and US as President Donald Trump has made defending online speech a cornerstone of his foreign policy and has condemned Brussels’ attempts to regulate major social media platforms – most of which are based in the US.

US Vice President J.D. Vance last year accused European leaders of suppressing free expression, warning that future American support would depend on whether allies uphold fundamental values. 

Read more

Late last year, Washington sanctioned five Europeans, including former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, for “coercing American platforms to punish American viewpoints.”

The US National Security Strategy also warns Europe of “civilizational erasure” due to its curbs on speech and “regulatory suffocation” of innovation, with Washington vowing to “cultivate resistance” to the continent’s trajectory.

The EU’s crackdown on social media has also drawn fierce criticism from tech leaders. Earlier this month, Telegram founder Pavel Durov declared France “not a free country” after authorities raided X’s Paris office.

“France is the only country in the world that is criminally persecuting all social networks that give people some degree of freedom (Telegram, X, TikTok…),” he wrote.

Elon Musk, whose platform was fined €150 million ($176 million) by the EU in December, has called the bloc a “bureaucratic monster” that should be abolished.