French MPs adopt ‘ fake news’ bill

Paris, Oct. 10: French lawmakers on Wednesday adopted two bills to prevent the spread of false information during election campaigns following allegations of Russian meddling in the 2017 presidential vote.

The "fake news" bills enable a candidate or political party to seek a court injunction preventing the publication of "false information" during the three months leading up to a national election.

They also give France's broadcast authority the power to take any network that is "controlled by, or under the influence of a foreign power" off the air if it "deliberately spreads false information that could alter the integrity of the election."

The measure is seen as aimed at Russia's statebacked RT network which began broadcasting in French late last year.

Macron has had Russian media in his sights since his 2017 campaign when a statebacked Russian site ran allegations that he was gay and had a secret bank account in the Bahamas.

France's opposition has criticised the bills as an attempt to create a "thought police", noting that a law dating to 1881 already protects politicians and other citizens against defamation.

Ahead of the late- night vote, Culture Minister Francoise Nyssen defended the draft laws saying they "in no way" violated the right to free speech. The main target of the legislation is stories spread by fake- news bots that are "manifestly false and shared in a deliberate, mass and artificial way," she said.

The bill also requires that Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms reveal names of firms behind sponsored content and establishes a press ethics council, headed by the former head of AFP, Emmanuel Hoog.