Lawmakers in France agreed late Wednesday that police should be able to spy on suspects by remotely activating the camera, microphone, and GPS on mobile phones and other devices.
The spy clause, which is part of a larger court reform bill, has been criticized by the left and rights activists as an authoritarian snoopers’ charter, despite the fact that Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti maintains it would influence just “dozens of cases a year.
The bill, which would cover computers, vehicles, and other connected things in addition to phones, would allow suspects in crimes punishable by at least five years in prison to be geolocated.
Devices might also be remotely activated to record audio and video of anyone suspected of terrorism, delinquency, and organized crime.
In a statement issued in May, digital rights group La Quadrature du Net stated that the regulations raise serious concerns about infringements of fundamental liberties.
It noted the right to security, a private life, and private correspondence, as well as the right to come and go freely, and described the idea as part of a slide into heavy-handed security.
During Wednesday’s debate, MPs from President Emmanuel Macron’s party proposed limiting the use of remote eavesdropping to when justified by the nature and gravity of the crime and for a strictly proportional duration.
A court must approve any use of the provision, and the overall duration of the surveillance cannot exceed six months.
Furthermore, sensitive professions such as doctors, journalists, lawyers, judges, and legislators would not be valid targets.
“We’re a long way from the totalitarianism of 1984”, Dupond-Moretti said of George Orwell’s novel about a society under total monitoring.
“People’s lives will be saved as a result of the law”, he continued.
The contested provision, which was part of an article including many other measures, was approved by National Assembly members as part of a larger justice overhaul package currently being debated in Parliament.
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