France mulls internet espionage powers
Iran Press TV
Wed Dec 4, 2013 5:47PM GMT
The French National Assembly has adopted a bill allowing authorities to monitor and collect internet user data without judicial approval, with critics saying it goes "against the principles of democracy."
On Tuesday, French lawmakers voted on the bill, with social parties and the radical left supporting the proposed legislature, while the Left Front and environmentalist groups voted against the measure.
The bill was presented by Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and is part of the 2014-2019 Defense Appropriation Legislatures that will allow authorities to access and gather internet user data without judicial oversight.
In addition, the proposed legislation would require internet service providers and content hosting companies such as YouTube to provide lawmakers with details of user activities.
Under current French laws, authorities must apply for a warrant in order to access such information.
Meanwhile, critics slammed the draft legislation, saying the bill violates individual freedoms.
"Relaxing the conditions of access to personal user data on the internet goes against individual freedoms," said Etienne Drouard, a lawyer specializing in communications law.
This comes in the wake of several recent reports based on leaked documents by US whistleblower Edward Snowden, which revealed that the US National Security Agency (NSA) targeted France and at the same time collaborated with the European country.
Reports have shown that the French government handed data gathered abroad to Washington. At the same time, the NSA has monitored French phone calls, with leaked documents showing that the agency collected more than 70 million French phone calls between December 2012 and January 2013.
A French think tank, 'Renaissance Numerique', has said that the spying revelations illustrate the need to safeguard privacy online.
"A number of actors are attempting to turn the internet into something it is not - a tool to violate personal liberties," said Guillaume Buffet, the think tank president.
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