“Stop the pack effect”: can the government temporarily block social networks?

To explain the violence that occurred on the fringes of the October 17 demonstrations, Gabriel Attal points to social networks as the main culprit. Guest on RTL this Monday, October 19, the presidential candidate called for a “temporary, targeted blocking” of certain platforms, to “stop the pack effect” encouraged by social networks. At the beginning of October, when the movement to block high schools was still in its infancy, another elected official called for the same suspension of social networks. “We must temporarily ban access to social networks, those that young people use to launch actions against establishments and teaching staff,” said Nicolas Isnard, mayor (LR) of Salon-de-Provence.

Since the “Yellow Vests” movement in 2018, social networks have played an increasingly important role in the organization of popular movements. This gives some people the idea of ​​wanting to control what happens on these platforms, even beyond the political class...