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 French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told a Washington news
conference on Thursday that "all the Internet operators were
welcoming me," including Twitter Inc, Google Inc, Microsoft Corp and
Facebook Inc.
He said that when meeting with the companies on Friday, he would
discuss several issues related to the use of social media by groups
such as Islamic State, including the companies' own "codes of
conduct" as well as strategies for using social media to counter
violent messaging by militants.
He said that under a new French law, the government has the
authority to "block" the posting of content which it considers
dangerous. A French official said that a law granting the government
powers to do this was passed by the French parliament late last
year, and that regulations to implement it were issued ten days ago.
Cazaneuve said, however, that he expected that French authorities
would not have to use their powers to ban particular message traffic
often. "We think the companies will do it," he said.
The companies did not have immediate comment.
Cazaneuve noted the French were strong proponents of freedom of
speech and that the condemnation of the recent deadly shooting
attack by two gunmen at the offices of satirical publication Charlie
Hebdo, which had published cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohammed,
demonstrated how highly France values free expression.
Earlier, in a speech to an international summit meeting on
"countering violent extremism" hosted by the administration of
President Barack Obama, Cazeneuve said that in recent years, the
"profile of terrorists and potential terrorists has changed."
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He said many had "become radicalized over the Internet," and others
shifted from "crime to terrorism after serving time in prison or
after contact with hardline Islamists."
He said that even though France last April introduced new
"preventive actions" to curb travel by would-be foreign fighters to
conflict areas, French authorities now believe "more than 400"
French citizens are now in Iraq and Syria. He said about 1,400
French citizens are involved "in one way or another" with networks
of foreign fighters.
Cazeneuve said Europe would increase travel controls, including
creation of a "passenger name record" tracking system and tightening
travel controls within the presently borderless "Schengen" area of
the European Union, as part of efforts to curb travel by foreign
fighters.
He said this would "require strengthening controls at EU borders,
notably for European nationals."
(Reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington; Editing by Ken Wills)
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