FRANCE BANS MENTIONING FACEBOOK & TWITTER ON THE NEWS!

Sick of talking about Twitter and Facebook?

You might want to consider a move to France.
The French TV regulatory agency CSA ruled that the words, “Follow us on Twitter," can no longer be said on news television shows unless they it is relevant to the “information" of a news story -- because it is considered “clandestine advertising", the Business Insider reported.

The stems from a 1992 regulation that makes mentioning brand names on air constitutes preferential treatment.

"Why give preference to Facebook, which is worth billions of dollars, when there are many other social networks that are struggling for recognition," CSA spokesperson Christine Kelly told Business Insider. "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?'"

The move was mocked by many in the U.S. and French columnists alike – including one well-known French writer, Benoit Raphael, who said that the CSA must just not know what a Facebook page or its importance.

He suggested that French broadcasters will continue to send viewers to their Twitter accounts – but in a more convert fashion.

"Meet the live coverage of the trial on our thread on the platform to spread messages of 140 characters," he suggested.


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