Cyberbullying: Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announces the creation of an “additional penalty of banishment from social networks”

On Wednesday May 10, Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister Delegate for the Digital Transition and Telecommunications, was the guest of “4 Vérités” on France 2. While presenting Wednesday in the Council of Ministers a bill to secure and protect the digital space, Jean-Noël Barrot returned to the establishment of an anti-scam filter on the Internet. The Minister has indicated that it will be a “simple and free device, which will protect Internet users when they are about to go to a malicious site, that is to say a site designed to plunder our personal data”.

“Internet users who behave like pack leaders”

Asked about the fight against cyberbullying, Jean-Noël Barrot announced that, within the framework of his bill, a “additional penalty of banishment from social networks” which can range from six months to one year in the event of a recurrence, is provided for “Internet users who behave like pack leaders, setting fire to their community and launching targeted raids on personalities”. This additional penalty “may be pronounced by the judge when a person is convicted of cyberbullying”he specified. The minister said he will be “forbidden” for these people to create another account by changing identifiers, indicating that “the platforms will have to implement the means to avoid the re-registration of these accounts”.