France bans mention of Twitter and Facebook on TV

The French government is set to ban the use of the words Twitter and Facebook on TV, according to reports.

The decision is based on a 1992 ruling banning commercial enterprises from being promoted on TV programmes. TV presenters will be able to refer to the social networking websites if they are directly related to a news story but all other mentions will not be allowed.

Christine Kelly, spokesman for communications regulator Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA), questioned why a company like Facebook that is worth billions of dollars should be given preference on TV when there are many other social networking sites available, describing it as a “distortion of competition”.

The ruling will also apply to radio programmes.