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I've heard that French broadcasters have been banned from talking about social networks, have the authorities gone mad?

Well it doesn't refer to all social networks, it is specifically for Facebook and Twitter. The ruling applies to radio and television broadcasting.

And what prompted this decision?

It was all in the name of fairness I suppose, and is in keeping with a law from 1992 that forbids covert advertising, which could put less well known social networks at an undeserved disadvantage.

I can't imagine that a broadcaster mentioning Facebook or Twitter would be doing it for advertising purposes. Besides, a ban will not stop them from being the most popular!

Well the French broadcast regulation body, or 'Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel', said that  mentioning Twitter or Facebook, which are both worth billions of dollars, should not be given preference over struggling social networks that could do without added competition.

So much for survival of the fittest! The ruling has only been in place for a few days, what has the response been like so far?

Online communities seem to be ridiculing the decision, and ironically have been tweeting and posting comments on Facebook. A French Twitter user, Loic Le Meur, tweeted his objection, saying: 'French regulation forbids TV networks to say Facebook or Twitter? My country is screwed.'

Well, to rely on a law that was introduced in 1992 does seem a bit out of date, considering the advancement in technology since then.

All I can say is that Facebook arrived in 2004, and Twitter followed in 2006... long after the rule was put in place, so perhaps a rule more tailored to social networking could be considered, as the law prevents the stations from even commenting about their own Facebook and Twitter pages.

First the burka, then the social networks. Whatever next?

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