France: Announcement of an agency to identify foreign disinformation campaigns

In a public hearing of the French parliament, Stephane Bouillion, head of the Secretariat-General for National Defence and Security, announced the creation of a state agency to identify foreign disinformation campaigns on social media. The agency shall be launched in September 2021 and grow to a staff "between 40 and 60" by the end of the year. It is unclear from the statement what authorities the new agency may receive to require the removal of such content or to take similar countermeasures.