The niece of the country’s most popular opposition politician, a former politician herself, is considering a lawsuit against Facebook as her posts fail to appear and the social media platform s algorhythms do not recommend users to follow her. This is not the first time the former politician s page has been restricted by Facebook.

Marion Marechal, the niece of Marine Le Pen, France s most popular opposition politician, is considering a lawsuit against Facebook, claiming that the social media giant has censored her page: her posts do not appear and the algorithms used by the network do not recommend following her.

The former politician gave a detailed account of her case both on Facebook and Twitter, adding that she was mulling legal action because freedom of expression is a fundamental right. She has also asked her followers to share her page to bypass censorship.

Facebook argued that it restricted access to Marion Marechal s page because Ms Marechal had repeatedly violated the platform s guidelines and policies. This is not the first time Facebook has restricted the politician s page.

There was a similar incident in February, when Facebook censored National Rally Vice President Jordan Bardella s page, besides that of Ms Marechal. The reason was that they both expressed their support for the French anti-migrant group Generation Identitaire, which was dissolved by France s interior minister. Facebook provided the same justification as in the current case: the content on the account was removed for its non-compliance with the rules and guidelines of the social media platform.

Following the incident, right-wing politician Jordan Bardella took to Twitter to announce that Facebook had arbitrarily removed his posts that denounced the government s moves against freedom. He also defended the importance of freedom of expression.

Marion Marechal, head of the French Institute of Social, Economic and Political Sciences (ISSEP), has pointed out on Twitter that the ideological and political censorship exercised by GAFAM (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft) lacks any legal framework.

Marine Le Pen, Marion Marechal s aunt, also spoke out for Generation Identitaire on Twitter, arguing that it would be rather disappointing if every organisation telling the truth was suspended or disbanded. She called on Emmanuel Macron to perform his duties in protecting the freedoms and rights of French citizens.

However, it is not just French politicians and their relatives who find Facebook s practices problematic. The social media giant has also cracked down on former US President Donald Trump by literally banning him, with Twitter and Instagram following suit. According to press reports, Facebook s ban will end in 2023, but Twitter has permanently suspended Donald Trump s account, a decision they announced in January this year.