Macron Defends EU AI Act in New Delhi, Vows G7 Crackdown on Digital Abuse

New Delhi — In a fiery address at the India AI Impact Summit on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron launched a staunch defense of the European Union’s regulatory framework for artificial intelligence, directly rejecting criticism from the Trump administration. Amidst growing transatlantic tensions over digital governance, Macron positioned the EU AI Act not as a shackle on innovation, but as a necessary shield for democratic values, specifically vowing to prioritize the protection of children from "digital abuse" during France’s presidency of the G7.

The President's comments come at a critical juncture for global AI policy, following a week of intensified scrutiny on generative AI platforms. The controversy surrounding Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot—recently implicated in the non-consensual generation of sexualized imagery involving minors—served as a grim backdrop to the summit, validating Europe’s "safety-first" approach in the eyes of its proponents.

A Sharp Rebuttal to "Misinformed Friends"

Speaking to an audience of global tech leaders, policymakers, and investors in New Delhi, Macron did not mince words regarding the ideological rift between Brussels and Washington. His remarks were a direct response to recent comments by Sriram Krishnan, the White House’s senior AI adviser, who earlier this week characterized the EU’s regulatory landscape as hostile to entrepreneurship and "blindly focused on regulation."

"Opposite to what some misinformed friends have been saying, Europe is not blindly focused on regulation," Macron declared, emphasizing that the continent remains a premier destination for investment. "Europe is a space for innovation and investment, but it is a safe space. We are determined to continue to shape the rules of the game, and to do so with our allies such as India."

The French President argued that true innovation cannot exist without the trust of the citizenry. He framed the "wild west" approach advocated by some Silicon Valley libertarians not as freedom, but as a dereliction of duty. "Free speech is pure bullshit if nobody knows how you are guided to this so-called free speech," Macron said, referring to the opaque algorithms that curate content on major social platforms. "Especially when it is guided from one hate speech to another."

The Grok Controversy: A Case Study in Risk

The urgency of Macron’s message was underscored by the ongoing scandal involving xAI’s Grok chatbot. Earlier this month, reports surfaced that the tool had been used to generate tens of thousands of sexualized deepfake images, including those depicting minors. The incident triggered a raid on X’s Paris offices by French prosecutors on February 3, investigating allegations of complicity in the distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Macron cited this incident as a definitive proof point for why voluntary guardrails are insufficient. "There is no reason our children should be exposed online to what is legally forbidden in the real world," he asserted. The controversy has become a lightning rod for EU regulators, who argue that without the binding enforcement mechanisms of the EU AI Act, platforms have little financial incentive to prioritize safety over speed and scale.

Under the EU AI Act, which fully entered into force in phases throughout 2025, General Purpose AI models with systemic risks are subject to strict transparency and safety testing requirements. The Grok incident is likely to be one of the first major test cases for the bloc's enforcement capabilities against non-compliant US-based entities.

Defining the Divide: EU vs. US Approaches

The summit highlighted the deepening philosophical divergence between the Atlantic partners. While the US administration under President Trump has signaled a rollback of executive orders related to AI safety to favor rapid acceleration and deregulation, the EU has doubled down on its risk-based framework.

The following table outlines the core differences in the current regulatory postures:

Comparison of AI Governance Approaches: EU vs. US

G7 Priority: A Global Shield for the Young

Looking ahead, Macron announced that France would use its G7 presidency to forge a global consensus on protecting youth in the digital age. He pledged to secure commitments from member nations to crack down on "digital abuse," a term he expanded to include not just deepfake pornography, but also algorithmic hyper-targeting and addictive design patterns.

"One of our G7 priorities will be children's protection against AI and digital abuse," Macron stated. He pointed to domestic legislation as a model, specifically the bill passed by French lawmakers—currently awaiting a final Senate vote—that seeks to ban social media usage for children under the age of 15 without strict parental consent.

This push for a "digital age of consent" is gaining traction beyond France. At the summit, UN Secretary-General António Guterres echoed Macron’s sentiments, warning that "no child should be a test subject for unregulated AI." The alignment between the UN and the EU suggests a growing international coalition willing to challenge the hegemony of US-based tech giants.

India’s "MANAV" Vision and Sovereign AI

The choice of New Delhi for this declaration was strategic. As the host nation, India represents a critical "swing state" in the global AI governance debate. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, appearing alongside Macron, unveiled India’s "MANAV Vision" (Human-centric AI), which emphasizes ethical and accountable governance.

Macron praised India’s Digital Public Infrastructure and its refusal to be merely a data farm for Western models. "India made a deliberate sovereign choice," Macron noted, endorsing the concept of "Sovereign AI"—the idea that nations should build and control their own AI infrastructure rather than relying solely on imported technology. This partnership signals a potential third way for AI governance, one that balances the EU’s regulatory rigor with the Global South’s need for accessible, developmental AI tools.

Implications for the AI Industry

For the AI industry, Macron’s speech serves as a stark warning: the era of self-regulation is effectively over in Europe, and potentially in other major markets influenced by the "Brussels Effect." Companies developing foundation models must now navigate a fractured regulatory landscape, with the EU demanding transparency and safety guarantees that the US market may not require.

As the G7 summit approaches, the industry should expect intensified pressure to implement age-gating and content provenance technologies. The "Grok controversy" has provided regulators with the political capital to act, and as Macron’s "bullshit" comment indicates, the diplomatic niceties regarding Big Tech’s failures are rapidly evaporating.