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French Version of 'Patriot Act' Becomes Law

Posted by Soulskill on from the privacy-surrenders dept.

Taco Cowboy writes: Thanks to the Charlie Hebdo massacre and other instances of terrorism, the French legislature has voted 438 to 86 in favor of the "Intelligence Service Bill," essentially a French version of the Patriot Act. It awards the French intelligence services sweeping powers to tap and intercept any kind of digital correspondence, including phone conversations, emails, and social media.

The bill decrees that hosting providers and Internet service providers in France must be equipped with a "black box" that can retain all digital communications from customers. "The new law would create a 13-member National Commission to Control Intelligence Techniques, which would be made up of six magistrates from the Council of State and the Court of Appeals, three representatives of the National Assembly, three senators from the upper house of Parliament and a technical expert. ... The only judicial oversight is a provision that allows the commission to lodge a complaint with the Council of State, but lawyers are doubtful that it could be convened on a routine basis." We previously discussed news that ISPs may leave France in protest if the bill was passed. Now we'll know shortly if those ISPs will live up to their word.

13 of 195 comments (clear)

  1. We warned France not to follow our mistakes by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Now it seems France will learn the hard way as well that giving up freedom never buys you safety.

    --
    A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
    1. Re:We warned France not to follow our mistakes by MadKeithV · · Score: 3, Insightful

      These actions are being taken in response to real threats that really killed real people.

      Real threats by people they already knew were potential terrorists and yet they failed to stop them from carrying them out. In other words, they had all the intel they could have wished for and it didn't help. This push for more intel/less privacy has bugger all to do with stopping terrorists.

  2. Freedom is an illusion by MrKaos · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Thinking about all those people that fought in the world wars for our freedom. I wonder if they would have fought if they knew their children would piss every freedom they fought for away in a generation.

    "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - John F. Kennedy

    --
    My ism, it's full of beliefs.
    1. Re:Freedom is an illusion by gweihir · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Simple: This removal of freedoms does not prevent terrorism _at_ _all_. Just read up on things a bit. Like both of the Charlie Hebdo attackers were already under special surveillance, not just the general one they want everybody to be under. It did help not one bit. They were also both idiots, whit one leaving his passport behind when they changed cars.

      Anybody that has looked at the known facts can only conclude that this is bot about fighting terrorism at all.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  3. Problem, Reaction, Solution... by advocate_one · · Score: 3, Insightful

    First they create the problem, then they generate the reaction, they they offer the ready made 'solution'

    Perfect use of Hegelian Principle...

    --
    Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
  4. Because of the action of a few ... by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ... everyone suffers

    That's the price all of us have to pay when we, the majority, cannot and/or dare not to, control the action of the few

    No matter if it's USA or France of Belgium or the Netherlands or Germany, as long as our society can not (and/or dare not to) confront those Islamists and get them to ditch their barbaric behavior, all of us will suffer

    You guys saw what happened in Garland Texas just days before

    You guys saw the length the government of Germany has to go --- including canceling at least two public events --- just to prevent the events becoming a bloodbath by the hands of the Islamists

    And that's not all ... the Madrid train station bombing, the Boston Marathon bombing, the London Tube bombing, what happened to the World Trade Center of New York City, and so on ...
     
    As long as we, the majority refuse to, or are too afraid of confronting them Islamists straight on, TPTB will formulate stuffs like the Patriot Act, NSA, and whatnots, in the name of 'tackling Islamic Terrorism', and at the end of the day, it is US, the non-Islamists, lost the most

    If them Islamists want to live in the West, they better behave like the Western people do

    I am not born in the States, I am from China. But as long as I am staying in the United States of America, I respect the society, the people, and the culture of America --- even though I may not see eye-to-eye with everything that they do

    If the Islamists insist on behaving like animals they can go back to where they came from --- they get to do whatever they like in the wide sand fields of Saudi Arabia, I don't care

    I am sick and tired of them Islamists --- they create trouble EVERYWHERE

    Not only in the United States, Europe, they also make troubles in Australia, in Russia, in Thailand, in Kenya, in China, in Nigeria, and so on, and so forth

    The world at large has been very tolerant with them, but there is a limit to everything

    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
    1. Re:Because of the action of a few ... by MrBigInThePants · · Score: 1, Insightful

      >I am sick and tired of them Islamists --- they create trouble EVERYWHERE
      >Not only in the United States, Europe, they also make troubles in Australia, in Russia, in Thailand, in Kenya, in China, in Nigeria, and so on, and so forth
      >The world at large has been very tolerant with them, but there is a limit to everything

      One could say the same about the USA...

    2. Re:Because of the action of a few ... by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 1, Insightful

      ... We just want to have our own Islamic state in Arabia without interference from you foreigners ...

      If you guys want to have your own Islamic State in Saudi Arabia, nobody cares

      You guys can take down the House of Saud

      You guys can turn Mecca into whatever you want

      Nobody cares

      But no, you guys want to have your "Islamic State" in places where Islam is not the original religion --- In Northern Iraq and in Syria there were Christians and the Yazidis living there even before you goddamn pedophilic Mohammad was born --- and you guys attempt to build your so-called "Islamic State" by murdering the Christians, the Kurds, the Yazidis

      Go back to your Saudi Arabia and do whatever fuck you want --- and stop meddling with other people's religion and stop slaughtering other people just because they do not agree with your version of Islam

      --
      Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
    3. Re:Because of the action of a few ... by X.25 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That's the price all of us have to pay when we, the majority, cannot and/or dare not to, control the action of the few

      No matter if it's USA or France of Belgium or the Netherlands or Germany, as long as our society can not (and/or dare not to) confront those Islamists and get them to ditch their barbaric behavior, all of us will suffer

      Yes, governments are trying to get more control over you and intelligence agencies are wanting more powers because of actions of few Islamists.

      I will never stop being amazed at human naivety.

    4. Re:Because of the action of a few ... by Roodvlees · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Because the USA is also very religious. Faith and beliefs motivate good people to do bad things.

      --
      Thank you, Bradley Manning, Edward Snowden and so many others, for courageously defending humanity, my freedom and more!
    5. Re: Because of the action of a few ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I am from China.

      Hello white supremacist filth.

      God dammit are you dumb.

    6. Re:Because of the action of a few ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Because the USA is also very religious. Faith and beliefs motivate good people to do bad things.

      No they don't. They let bad people convince themselves that doing bad things is OK. Everybody brings their own morality to their religion, not the other way around.

      Same thing happens with stuff like police brutality. Being a cop doesn't turn someone into a bully, it just lets bullies feel justified when they do abuse their power.

    7. Re:Because of the action of a few ... by Jesrad · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yet more accurately: faith is the very essence of 'not being able to realize when you're wrong'. Faith is about stopping yourself from questionning your beliefs. Nothing could be more antethical to the pursuit of truth and good.

      Good, bad, whatever you're doing, if you can pause and ask yourself whether what you're doing is good or bad then you're already far above the basic zealots who won't pause nor ask themselves. And by zealot, I also mean the ordinary everyday-man, the Eichmann-sort that have faith in public/democratic authority figures, be they secular or religious.

      Being a cop doesn't turn someone into a bully

      You might want to review the Stanford Prison experiment. Giving someone power over other people and little accountability DOES turn people into bullies.

      --
      Maybe we deserve this world ?