French ban the words 'Twitter' and 'Facebook' from TV and radio news
In a controversial move the French government has said that it will enforce a law so that the words 'Facebook' and 'Twitter' will not be allowed to be spoken on the television or on the radio.
President Nicolas Sarkozy's colleagues have agreed to uphold a 1992 decree which stipulates that commercial enterprises should not be promoted on news programs.
Broadcasting anchors from now on are forbidden to refer to the popular social networking site and the microblogging phenomenon, unless it is pivotal and relevant to a news item.
In preventing French news broadcasters from mentioning Facebook and Twitter it means that the radio and television stations will not be able to urge their listeners or viewers to 'follow us on Twitter', for example - something that is becoming increasingly visible on other countries' news channels across Europe and beyond.
Further, it limits those French channels and stations from developing and harnessing an online audience - something which is more important as technological advancements gather pace and news becomes more interactive and digital.
According to TechCrunch, they will only be able to provide ambiguous instructions, such as 'find us on social networking sites', thanks to the 1992 law.
Christine Kelly, spokesman for France’s Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA), thinks that the government is correct to uphold this law.
'Why give preference to Facebook, which is worth billions of dollars, when there are many other social networks that are struggling for recognition?' she asked.
'This would be a distortion of competition. If we allow Facebook and Twitter to be cited on air, it’s opening a Pandora’s Box — other social networks will complain to us saying, "why not us?"'
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