Emmanuel Macron blasted social media’s free speech defense with fiery and blunt remarks. Speaking at the AI Summit in New Delhi, India, the French President criticized social media companies for directing users from one instance of hate speech to another through algorithms.
On February 18, 2026, ANI News posted a video of Macron speaking at the global event, sending a clear and direct message to the tech giants behind the social media platforms. He stated that these companies test and train their algorithms to guide users to the posts they want them to see.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the free speech defense of social media platforms is “pure bull—-,” pushing back against a key foreign policy goal of President Donald Trump https://t.co/14xUgOpcgg pic.twitter.com/3smpQNNnGW
— Bloomberg (@business) February 18, 2026
Macron claimed, “The democratic consequences of this bias could be huge.” He, then, critisized the social media giants, who claim to be in favor of free speech, but he is in “favor of free algorithms. Totally transparent.” The comment drew thunderous applause from the audience. He added,
“Because, I mean, free speech is pure bull—-, if nobody knows how you are guided through this so-called free speech, especially when it’s to be guided from one hated speech to another hated speech.”
He clarified that he preferred a transparent road that safeguards users from discriminatory speech and other hateful content on the platform.
The remarks were aimed at Donald Trump’s cabinet members. In a separate report from Bloomberg, the French President warned earlier this month that the European Union should stand firm against Trump over the bloc’s regulations of digital services.
This regulation targets countries such as Spain and France, resulting in bans on social media for children. Naturally, Donald Trump’s administration did not agree with Macron’s words. Administration has claimed that they would retaliate against the foreign powers, who are vehemently trying to curtail free speech.
The US claimed that it would develop “resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations.”
Likewise, Vice President JD Vance spoke at the Munich Security Conference, accusing the European Union of silencing free speech. He emphasised that the departure from the core fundamental value is proving to be a bigger threat to the continent than Xi Jinping’s China or Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
JUST IN: Vice President JD Vance rips European leaders to their faces at the Munich security conference, calls them out for criminalizing free speech.
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Vance specifically called out the United Kingdom for being the worst of them all.
“I wish I could say that this was a… pic.twitter.com/1bj9TKxP4q
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 14, 2025
The Vice President repeatedly attempted to moderate free speech on social media. But some European Union officials expressed concern that the US was using free speech as a pretext to soften regulations on platforms.
In HuffPost’s report, several European countries have considered blocking content on social media platforms to protect children from accessing sensitive content. The action came in response to Elon Musk’s X, over its AI assistant Grok, creating deepfakes of women with a simple prompt.
Likewise, Spain has ordered its prosecutors to investigate renowned platforms like X, Meta, and TikTok that have played a role in circulating material that promoted child s***** abuse. “Dirty Sánchez is a tyrant and traitor to the people of Spain,” Musk wrote in retaliation to Spain’s PM’s orders.
