French President Macron says free speech defense is 'pure bulls---' without algorithm transparency

While speaking at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, Macron argued in favor of restrictions on artificial intelligence and social media.

During his speech, he called for more transparency from social media companies regarding their algorithms, claiming that there could be major democratic consequences if they did not.

"All algorithms have biases," Macron said. "We know that. They are so impactful, especially social media. Having no clue how the algorithm is made, tested, trained, and where it guides you - the democratic consequences of this bias could be huge. We don't ask for regulation. We don't ask for the IP. But you should make it transparent."

"Banning social media for those under 15: this is what scientists recommend, and this is what the French people are overwhelmingly calling for," Macron said. "Because our children's brains are not for sale - neither to American platforms nor to Chinese networks. Because their dreams must not be dictated by algorithms."

The Trump administration has long criticized what it's called "digital censorship" in Europe.

"Everything from our Ukraine policy to digital censorship is billed as a defense of democracy," he continued. "But when we see European courts canceling elections and senior officials threatening to cancel others, we ought to ask whether we're holding ourselves to an appropriately high standard."