Mexico gives tech platforms a month to remove violent content

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum ordered Meta, TikTok, X, Apple and Microsoft on Oct. 14 to remove violent content from social networks within one month or face sanctions, after two deadly school attacks in two weeks.

The decree orders social networks to prevent minors from accessing images and videos that lead to or encourage violence in schools, including abuse, suicide, self-harm, cyberbullying and hate speech. It also says platforms must alert authorities if they identify content that endangers life.

Sheinbaum linked the recent violence to “behavior associated with communication on social media.” She said the government would legislate to impose sanctions if the companies did not adjust their algorithms to remove violent content linked to children’s and adolescents’ accounts.

Two people have been killed and several others injured in two separate school attacks in Mexico in the past two weeks. On Oct. 1, two teenage brothers armed with knives and fireworks killed a female assistant principal and injured three other people at a school in Coahuila state. On Oct. 13, a teacher was shot dead at a school in Oaxaca state.

In a discussion with TikTok and Instagram users, Sheinbaum denied that the new rules amounted to censorship. “We’re not banning social media,” she said.