The French government is notorious for banning the use of English words as a way of maintaining French language and culture.

However, a recent ruling by the French government, which now makes it illegal to speak the words "Facebook" or "Twitter" on television or radio newscasts, isn't as shocking as you might think.

In fact, it's actually based on a 1992 decree which states that commercial entities cannot be promoted on news programs.

"Why give preference to Facebook, which is worth billions of dollars, when there are many other social networks that are struggling for recognition?" wondered Christine Kelly, the spokeswomen for France’s Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA).

The ban is such that a television or radio station with a Twitter or Facebook page won't even be able to make an on-air appeal for their audience to follow them on that specific site. Instead, they will have to say something along the lines of "find us on social networking sites."

While this all seems quite ridiculous, we bet embattled New York Congressman Anthony Weiner would love to live in a land in which the word Twitter was banned from all newscasts.

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