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French lawmakers approve controversial bill on surveillance powers

Iran Press TV

Tue May 5, 2015 4:57PM

Lawmakers in France have unanimously approved a controversial bill that, if endorsed by the upper house, will provide the government with sweeping surveillance powers on the citizens.

France's National Assembly on Tuesday approved the bill, which legalizes broad-based spying on what is called terrorism suspects in the country.

"The last intelligence law was done in 1991, when there were neither cellphones nor internet," said Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who personally attended the legislature on Tuesday to gain the yes vote on the bill.

Now, it is up to the French Senate to decide on the bill, which has already raised the hackles in a country which claims to be the cradle of liberties in Europe.

The bill would enable France's intelligence establishment to exercise an almost full control over the internet communications of the citizens without a limiting judicial supervision.

Based on the new mechanism, the intelligence services in France can tap cellphones and capture text messages while they are enabled with a massive capability of gathering unlimited electronic data.

Valls said, however, that there would be limits to the implementation of the bill, and the control would be exercised in a "targeted" way.

"The means of surveillance for anticipating, detecting and prevention of attacks will be strictly limited," Valls said.

Activists and rights advocates contest Valls' interpretation of the bill, saying the text of it clearly contradicts claims of limited surveillance.

"It is a state lie…. This project was presented to us as a way to protect France against terrorism, and if that were the case, I would back it," said Pierre-Olivier Sur, the head of the Paris Bar Association.

France has introduced new measures for countering what it claims to be increasing threats from terrorists group. That came after a January 7 attack on the office of the sacrilegious Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris which left 12 people killed. The incident was followed by a series of other sieges and shootings in France.

MS/HSN/SS