But French radio station Europe 1 reported the event had “disappeared” from the official agenda and there had been “long doubt” over the participation of social media giants. “Pressure from Donald Trump was mentioned,” the station said, citing an unnamed source. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The charter is due to be discussed at a working lunch on Monday, attended by the G7 national leaders plus Morrison. On Sunday Morrison and Trump will have a short "pull aside" conversation. Digital strategy is a new battleground between the US and France. The latter imposed a 3 per cent digital sales tax, on the grounds that internet giants are using international tax loopholes to shift profits out of the countries where they are made.

But Trump retaliated by threatening to raise tariffs on French wine, and is reportedly keen to raise the issue again in Biarritz. If Trump decides the fight against internet extremism can be used as a lever to extract concessions from the French on the digital tax initiative, it could be a blow to Morrison’s hopes for the summit. The Australian prime minister has adopted New Zealand’s “Christchurch Call” to eliminate terrorist and violent content online. The government anticipated the G7 would be a chance for Morrison to build on his success at June’s G20 summit in Osaka, where he convinced leaders to send a joint message to social media platforms to do more to root out extremist content that can inspire terror and violence. A senior Trump official denied the White House had pressured social media giants not to sign the charter, which builds on the Christchurch call outlining new ways to fight hate speech, cyberbullying and online terrorism – with new rules for taking down or moderating extreme content, ensuring transparency and supporting victims. But the official told Reuters the industry had banded together to try to water down the initiative: “We heard from a couple of companies that they felt bullied by France to join,” he said.

And he was non-committal on whether Trump would sign, saying the White House was still evaluating it. “It certainly has merits,” he said. In the US the constitutional right to free speech is seen as a major block to efforts to crack down on internet hate speech and terrorism. US president Donald Trump had lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday in France. Credit:AP Meanwhile in Biarritz early action at the G7 included one-on-one meetings between leaders including Macron and Trump. Trump reported that “everyone is getting along” and “we’ll accomplish a lot this weekend”.

A French diplomat was quoted saying Macron outlined in their meeting a new plan to ease tensions with Iran, allowing the nation to export a limited amount of oil if it agrees to continue to implement the 2015 nuclear deal, reduce hostility in the Perisan Gulf and open talks. Loading The bilaterals were followed by a working dinner of all G7 leaders featuring local Basque specialities including red tuna cooked in an earthenware dish with tomatoes, followed by cheese, cakes and a peach dessert. UK leader Boris Johnson, who is due to have his own personal chat with Trump on Sunday, said he would urge the US president not to escalate his trade war with China. He said he was “very worried” about the way global trade was going, “the growth of protectionism, of tariffs that we’re seeing”.

And he said the UK was “at risk of being implicated” in the US-China trade spat. "This is not the way to proceed,” he said. “Apart from everything else, those who support the tariffs are at risk of incurring the blame for the downturn in the global economy, irrespective of whether or not that is true. "I want to see an opening up of global trade, I want to see a dialling down of tensions and I want to see tariffs come off." Saturday also saw a march of thousands of anti-G7 protesters in a town south of Biarritz on the Spanish border. Marchers said they wanted more action against climate change and did not trust the G7 leaders to treat the climate emergency with to urgency it required. On Sunday Morrison is due to meet Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe to discuss the internet extremism strategy, as well as regional security.