A French bill has been passed that will reportedly allow the police to eavesdrop on suspects by remotely activating smart phone cameras and microphones, as well as accessing the GPS data on user's phones.
The People's Gazette noted that the bill gives the authorities permission to access the geolocation of crime suspects. These details are part of a wider effort for justice reform, but it has been criticized as leaning too much toward authoritarianism.
This comes as French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly suggested that the French government should consider cutting off social media amid the race riots that have ravaged many areas across the country.
Macron’s comments come after ministers blamed social media platforms like Snapchat and TikTok, which young people have used to communicate and gather to carry out violence after a 17-year-old teenager was killed by police during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb, according to The Guardian.
The report caught the attention of award-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald, who posted the article to Twitter, saying: “Every western government is actively planning how to censor the internet even more.”
“We need to think about how young people use social networks … when things get out of hand, we may have to regulate them or cut them off,” Macron said in front of 200 mayor whose areas have been affected by the riots.
“Above all, we shouldn’t do this in the heat of the moment and I’m pleased we didn’t have to.”
“I think it’s a real debate that we need to have in the cold light of day.”
However, critics have suggested cutting off social media in France would potentially place the country along an authoritarian path, similar to China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia.
Olivier Marleix, from the center-right Les Republicains, said: “Cut social media? Like China, Iran, North Korea? Even if it’s a provocation to distract attention, it’s in very bad taste.”
Olivier Faure, of the Socialist Party, tweeted: “The country of the rights of man and citizens cannot align itself with those great democracies of China, Russia and Iran.”
The report noted that French ministers met with representatives of TikTok and Snapchat, and the following day, Eric Dupond-Moretti, said that moves would be taken to identify accounts using social media to organize criminal activity and bring them to court.
A report by The Post Millennial recently noted that TikTok has been used by human trafficking cartels. Accounts involved in human trafficking post “help wanted” ads on the site, hoping people will accept money to take people across the Mexican border.
