Macron Targets Big Tech, Says Free Speech Claim Is ‘Pure Bulls**t’

Last Updated:February 19, 2026, 07:28 IST

Emmanuel Macron added that claims of defending free speech ring hollow without algorithmic transparency.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the free speech defence put forward by major social media platforms is “pure bullshit," pushing back against a key foreign policy stance of US President Donald Trump.

Speaking in New Delhi on Wednesday, Macron questioned the transparency of social media algorithms and their democratic impact. “Having no clue about how their algorithm is made, how it’s tested, trained and where it will guide you — the democratic consequences of this bias could be huge," he said, according to Bloomberg.

Macron added that claims of defending free speech ring hollow without algorithmic transparency.

“Some of them claim to be in favour of free speech. Ok, we are in favour of free algorithms, but if they are totally transparent," Macron said.

“Free speech is pure bullshit if nobody knows how you are guided to this so-called free speech, especially when it is guided from one hate speech to another," Bloomberg quoted him as saying.

The remarks come as European countries, including the UK and Germany consider restrictions or bans on social media use for minors, citing concerns that the platforms are addictive and harmful.

Such moves could affect advertising revenues for companies including Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, Snap, Elon Musk’s X, TikTok and Google’s YouTube.

The US has criticised these proposed restrictions, arguing they amount to censorship. Bloomberg noted that Washington recently imposed visa bans on a former European official and activists involved in policing online hate speech, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing the action as resistance to what he called the “global censorship-industrial complex."

Macron has warned that the European Union could face a clash with the Trump administration over digital regulation, with countries like France and Spain potentially targeted by the US for pursuing stricter controls.

In its national security strategy, the Trump administration said it would counter foreign efforts to “censor our discourse" and promote resistance within Europe against regulatory approaches it views as limiting free speech.

News world Macron Targets Big Tech, Says Free Speech Claim Is ‘Pure Bulls**t’

Read More