French opposition, media cry foul over ‘fake news’ bill

PARIS: French lawmakers accused the government of attempting to legalise censorship during a stormy debate yesterday over a bill designed to fight socalled fake news during election campaigns.

President Emmanuel Macron launched a crusade against misinformation after being targeted during his 2017 campaign by online rumours that he was gay and had a secret bank account in the Bahamas — claims he rubbished as lies spread by Russian media and the French far right.

The draft law allows a political candidate or party to seek an injunction preventing the publication of “false information” during the three months preceding a national election.

Defending the bill on French radio, MP Stanislas Guerini of Macron’s centrist party said: “What I don’t want is that some day, we have a Trump elected by a Putin in our country.”

The government aims to have it in place in time for next year’s European parliamentary vote.

But it has run into stiff opposition from the media and in parliament, where parties on the left and right both called it an attack on freedom of expression and an attempt to create a ‘ thought police’ during a debate into the early hours of Friday.

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” said Constance Le Grip, an MP from the centreright Republicans party, warning the risk of “claims labelled ‘ fake news’ by a judge being proven to be true a few days later”. — AFP