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gendarmes removing roadblocks on the highway from Noumea French digital rights advocacy group La Quadrature
to the international airport at Tontouta, followed by images du Net said that the decision was “strongly criticised by
of Kanak activists rebuilding the roadblocks at the same the independence movement and human rights activists,
location - all accompanied by jaunty music and sped up but also within the governing majority. This is especially
motion that made the French police look like clowns. Other because targeting a single social network seems particularly
social media videos were shared with pictures of police forces ineffective. Moreover, no particular content was targeted or
deploying around the country, such as the arrival of French given as an example to justify such a decision.”
riot squads in Lifou in the outlying Loyalty Islands, even In Paris, La Quadrature du Net had quickly sought an interim
though the initial violence was centred in the capital. injunction to lift the TikTok ban in New Caledonia. Before the
France’s then-Overseas Minister Gérald Darmanin and Armed court, French government lawyers tried to justify the ban
Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu were also quick to allege based on a 1955 law introduced during France’s colonial war
that the TikTok ban was designed to limit foreign interference in Algeria, which states that “the Minister of the Interior may
from China, Russia, and Azerbaijan. Criticising “foreign take any measure to ensure the interruption of any online
manipulation”, the French ministers blamed Azerbaijan and communication service to the public, provoking or glorifying
its Baku Initiative Group (BIG) for promoting anti-French acts of terrorism.”
propaganda and misinformation. During the hearing, officials from Prime Minister Attal’s
To justify the ban, a technical fact sheet was issued three office admitted that TikTok had been chosen above other
days after the riots began by the French agency Viginum (a social media platforms because “the profile of the rioters
section of the General Secretariat for Defence and National matched the profile of the users” - meaning that most
Security that monitors disinformation and misinformation). protestors were young and indigenous Kanak.
The document argued that “between 15-16 May 2024, TikTok management complained that the New Caledonia
Viginum detected on X and Facebook, the massive and ban had been introduced “without any questions to the
coordinated dissemination of manifestly inaccurate or company, or requests for the removal of content by the local
misleading content—photo or video montages—blaming France authorities or the French government.”
for its handling of the situation in New Caledonia in the In late May 2024, the Conseil d’État declined to issue
context of the riots.” The factsheet, however, did not include an interim injunction, as the state of emergency in New
any examples of misinformation on TikTok. Caledonia was coming to an end. The French High Commission
Media organisations around the world seized on the Baku in Noumea announced that people could again access TikTok:
connection, blaming the Aliev regime rather than President “From Tuesday 28 May 2024, following the end of measures
Macron’s policy for triggering the riots. However, at year’s taken under the State of Emergency in the territory, the ban
end, the cyber agency Viginum issued another briefing paper on the social media platform TikTok has been lifted.”
that quietly acknowledged the lack of impact of alleged
disinformation from Baku: “Despite its repeated and crude Legal challenge
attempts to establish itself in the French-speaking digital To address ongoing concerns about freedom of expression,
public debate, the BIG has not succeeded in obtaining the a formal case against the French government was lodged last
visibility probably expected among the populations targeted June by the Ligue des droits de l’homme and La Quadrature
by its manoeuvres.” du Net. They argued that “this episode marks a milestone in
the rise of authoritarianism in France and the failure of our
Human rights responses institutions to prevent it.”
The May 2024 state of emergency and TikTok ban were After months of hearings, the Conseil d’État issued
short-lived, as human rights and media organisations its decision on 1 April this year, which criticised the
mobilised against the overarching restriction of one social New Caledonia ban, but also noted that “in exceptional
media platform. Critics noted that the restriction of TikTok in circumstances, the government may temporarily interrupt
New Caledonia was the first time a social media network had access to a social network.”
been completely censored by a member state of the European France’s highest administrative court set out three detailed
Union, which routinely publicises its support for freedom of conditions that must be met to justify any restriction: firstly,
expression and freedom of the media. “that the ban is essential to deal with events of particular
On 18 May, Amnesty International issued a statement gravity; secondly, there is no technical means of immediately
noting that “the state of emergency declared by the French taking alternative measures that are less intrusive on rights
government and the deployment of the French army, coupled and freedoms; and thirdly, that the interruption is taken for
with a ban on the social media app TikTok, must not be a limited period necessary to research and implement these
misused to restrict people’s human rights.” alternative measures.”

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