The French government intends to block social media platforms that do not remove posts calling for insurrection and violence after receiving official requests from the authorities.

This is stipulated in an amendment to the bill on the reparation of damages caused by riots, presented on Monday, October 26, and examined by the Senate this Tuesday, Le Figaro reports.

The rule foresees that platforms must remove within one hour any posts that "call for an attack, insurrection, or arming against the State and/or part of the population," and considers blocking or de-indexing them otherwise.

The Executive justifies the measure in the text of the amendment: social networks "can contribute decisively to violence and destruction, particularly through the dissemination of content calling for the commission of these offenses."

Therefore, it argues that "the administrative authority must be able to intervene quickly to put an end to the dissemination of content calling for violence, looting, and ransacking."

The amendment provides for establishing an "emergency procedure" to order platforms to remove such content.

In addition, it expands the powers of Pharos, the state platform responsible for identifying illegal online content.

It is also proposed to give social networks 24 hours to delete posts inciting murder, violent acts, theft, and destruction of property, when such materials could cause a serious disturbance of public order.

The initiative comes following the riots and looting that accompanied the October 17 protests.

On Monday, President Emmanuel Macron stated during a trip to Marseille that social networks were used to coordinate actions and gather participants at the sites of attacks and looting.

Protests demanding better educational conditions and opposing the rising cost of living escalated on October 17 into riots across several French cities.

Demonstrators erected barricades, set fire to vehicles and public buildings, and looted shops, in incidents that left around 2,700 people detained, at least 3,000 businesses affected, and nearly 1,000 officers injured.