Emmanuel Macron said he had a "clear and honest" discussion with Twitter owner Elon Musk about the social media platform's content moderation policies, just a day after the French president had flagged his concerns on the issue.
"Transparent user policies, significant reinforcement of content moderation and protection of freedom of speech: efforts have to be made by Twitter to comply with European regulations," Macron said in a tweet after his meeting with Musk on Friday afternoon.
Macron: There are responsibilities and limits to free speech
On Thursday, Macron - on a visit to the United States - said in an interview with the television show Good Morning America that he believed there were "responsibilities and limits" to free speech.
In line with our ambition for decarbonizing and reindustrializing France and Europe, with @elonmusk we exchanged on future green industrial projects, such as manufacturing of electric vehicles and batteries. pic.twitter.com/uolbo1mTzg
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 2, 2022
Researchers have reported a surge in hate speech on the social media platform after free speech advocate Musk announced an amnesty for accounts suspended under the company's previous leadership that had not broken the law or engaged in "egregious spam."
Billionaire Musk took over Twitter on October 27, paying $44 billion for the company, and has moved quickly to initiate a number of changes to product and staff.