[P2P-F] Fwd: [opennetcoalition] France adopts anti-terror law eroding civil liberties

[Michel Bauwens]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: La Quadrature du Net <contact at laquadrature.net>
Date: Thu, Sep 25, 2014 at 3:38 PM
Subject: [opennetcoalition] France adopts anti-terror law eroding civil
liberties
To: opennetcoalition at laquadrature.net


Themes: CENSORSHIP, FREE SPEECH, NET FILTERING, SURVEILLANCE, ANTI-TERROR
LAW

La Quadrature du Net – For immediate release

Permanent link:
https://www.laquadrature.net/en/france-adopts-anti-terror-law-eroding-civil-liberties


France adopts anti-terror law eroding civil liberties



*** Paris, 22 September 2014 — Last week, a nearly empty French lower house
(National Assembly) voted with a large majority in favour of the "bill
strengthening provisions on the fight against terrorism". In an atmosphere
heavy with “apocalyptic” anxiety and speeches on the terrorist threat
—particularly online—, interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve and rapporteur
Sébastien Pietrasanta wore down all opposition, blocking any further
thought on the serious breaches of the Rule of Law contained in this bill.
***

The discussion surrounding the bill was marked by a security-obsessed arms
race between Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, rapporteur Pietrasanta and
representatives from both the Left and the Right.

While criticism on both the content and the form of the bill are growing
(including from media usually moderate on such issues), many MPs proved
ready to give up on fundamental freedoms in the name of the fight against
terrorism.

The articles most debated in the National Assembly had already been
identified as problematic early on by La Quadrature du Net, they relate to:

* Travel restrictions, control of freedom of movement by banning citizens
from leaving the country (Article 1);
* The removal of articles regarding “glorifying of terrorism” from press
laws and their inclusion in the Penal Code (lesser procedural guarantees)
(Article 4);
* The creation of “individual terrorist enterprise” and “usually visiting
terrorist websites” offenses (Article 5);
* Administrative blocking of Internet websites advocating terrorism
(Article 9).

In addition, articles 10 to 15bis create new procedural exceptions which
weaken due process for all matters of organized crime and even collective
actions. They open serious risks of police incriminating any form of
radical political action without proper judicial control.

During the debate, Bernard Cazeneuve dodged all questions, taking refuge in
half-truths, referring for example to the intervention of the
administrative judge in the website blocking process and suggesting that
the judge would intervene systematically as a mediator —while the text of
the law says no such thing. By trying to ridicule his opponents as well as
the press who had denounced the bill, he showed that his objective is
mainly to pass knee-jerk legislation, to ease red tape for the police and
to circumvent the judiciary, rather than adopting a proper law.

Before the vote, and to encourage citizens and volunteers to take part in
the debate, raise awareness and make themselves heard by members of the
Parliament, La Quadrature du Net created a website, “presumes-terroristes.fr”
[1] (presumed terrorists), to analyze the bill and its dangers. Many
associations such as Reporters Without Borders, the Human Rights League as
well as many others joined the campaign.

The next step for the bill will be the debate on the Senate floor (upper
house) in the coming weeks. La Quadrature du Net calls on citizens to
contact their Senators to raise awareness as early as possible about the
dangers of this bill. It is still possible to change the course of the
legislative process.

“The recent debates in the French National Assembly on the ‘Terrorism’ bill
are a striking example of legislating under pressure of emotional news. The
Ministry of the Interior kept instrumentalizing news about the
participation of French citizens to jihadist groups in Syria, and the fear
that they might engage in individual action terrorism upon their return. We
thank the few MPs who had the courage to oppose the proposed dangerous bill
and now call on senators to reject this text. Democratic states harming
fundamental rights by adopting inefficient measures in the name of fighting
the apology of terrorism is exactly what the terror groups are looking
for.” said Philippe Aigrain, co-founder of La Quadrature du Net.





* References *

1. https://presumes-terroristes.fr/






** 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 **

contact at laquadrature.net, +33 (0)972 294 426

https://www.laquadrature.net/en/press-room




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