---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: La Quadrature du Net <[email protected]> Date: Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 8:45 AM Subject: [opennetcoalition] Huge Threats to Fundamental Freedoms and Rights Consolidated in the French Parliament To: [email protected] Themes: SURVEILLANCE, PRIVACY, FRENCH DEFENSE BILL La Quadrature du Net – For immediate release Permanent link: https://www.laquadrature.net/en/huge-threats-to-fundamental-freedoms-and-rig... Huge Threats to Fundamental Freedoms and Rights Consolidated in the French Parliament *** Paris, 10 December 2013 — Despite the strong citizen mobilisation and the numerous reactions [1] voiced against it, the French Senate just voted in second reading the controversial 2014-2019 Defense Bill [2] and its dangerous terms without any changes. This vote closes parliamentary debate on this text: the French Constitutional Council alone can now alter the application of these measures infringing the basic rights of citizens. La Quadrature du Net strongly calls the members of the French Parliament to formally place the matter before the Constitutional Council for a decision on the conformity of this law to the French Constitution. *** By voting the 2014-2019 Defense Bill without any changes, the French Senators just closed parliamentary debates on the subject. Despite numerous warnings expressed by citizen organisations [3] as well as public agencies [4], the text adopted today will: - Authorise live capturing of data and documents (“that on request may be captured and transmitted in real time by operators and agents mentioned” [our translation]) by hosting services and service providers. - Allow the harvesting and capturing of “data and documents treated or stored by their networks or services” (our translation) and not solely the connection data. - Extend the list of public offices that may request surveillance, to include, for instance, the Ministry of Economy and Finance. - Extend the reasons for which surveillance may be requested to include information related to “the scientific and economic potential of France” and the prevention of “organised crime and delinquency” (our translations). At this stage of the procedure, only the French Constitutional Council can stop the application of these measures opening the way to generalised surveillance of online information and communications. But this higher authority needs to be referred to by either 60 MPs, the Prime Minister or the President. La Quadrature du Net strongly calls on representatives of both chambers to hear appeals from citizens and to table a request for a constitutional review as soon as possible. “In the context of Snowden's revelations on massive and generalised citizen surveillance, it is shocking to see the French Parliament adopt a text that enshrines the state of emergency and allows total abuse of citizen's privacy. Representatives must hear the call of civil society and activate recourse to the Constitutional Council” concludes Phillipe Aigrain, cofounder of La Quadrature du Net. * References * 1. https://www.laquadrature.net/fr/pcinpact-surveillance-du-net-deluge-de-contestations-contre-le-patriot-act-francais[fr] 2. http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/14/ta/ta0251.asp [fr] 3. For example by the AFDEL (the French Association of software and Internet solution engineers) as well as the International Federation on Human Rights or La Quadrature du Net. 4. Especially the Conseil National du Numérique (The French Digital Council) and the CNIL (National Commission of Digital Information and Freedom). ** About La Quadrature du Net ** La Quadrature du Net is an advocacy group that defends the rights and freedoms of citizens on the Internet. More specifically, it advocates for the adaptation of French and European legislations to respect the founding principles of the Internet, most notably the free circulation of knowledge. In addition to its advocacy work, the group also aims to foster a better understanding of legislative processes among citizens. Through specific and pertinent information and tools, La Quadrature du Net hopes to encourage citizens' participation in the public debate on rights and freedoms in the digital age. La Quadrature du Net is supported by French, European and international NGOs including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Open Society Institute and Privacy International. List of supporting organisations: https://www.laquadrature.net/en/they-support-la-quadrature-du-net ** Press contact and press room ** Jérémie Zimmermann, [email protected], +33 (0)615 940 675 http://www.laquadrature.net/en/press-room _______________________________________________ Opennetcoalition mailing list [email protected] https://laquadrature.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/opennetcoalition -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/