Mexico gives social media firms one month to remove violent content

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Wednesday that the technology and social media companies Meta, TikTok, X, Apple and Microsoft have one month to remove content that fuels violence from their platforms. If they fail to do so, they could face sanctions. The order responds to recent attacks at schools in the country.

Attacks at schools

Over the past two weeks, two separate attacks have taken place at Mexican schools, leaving two people dead and several injured. They have unsettled a country where brutal drug cartels carry out terror, but where shootings or stabbings at schools are relatively rare.

On 1 October, two teenage brothers armed with knives and firecrackers killed a principal's assistant and wounded three other people at a school in the state of Coahuila. On Tuesday, a teacher was shot dead at a school in the state of Oaxaca.

What the decree requires

Sheinbaum linked the violence to behaviour connected with communication on social media. She said sanctions would follow if the companies did not adjust their algorithms and remove all violent content tied to the accounts of children and teenagers.

The decree issued on Wednesday requires companies to prevent minors from accessing images and videos that lead to or encourage violence in school settings. This includes cruel treatment, suicide, self-harm, cyberbullying and hate speech. The companies must also inform the authorities if they spot content that endangers life.

During a discussion with TikTok and Instagram users, the president denied that the new rules amount to censorship. "We are not banning social media," she said.