• bbbhltz
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    11 year ago

    Looks like there are caveats to this law:

    You would need to be a suspect in a crime that has a punishment of 5 or more years in prison in order for the phone to be geolocated.

    For video/audio you need to fall under the definition of organised crime or terrorism.

    BUT… If you are an environmental activist, someone might consider you a type of terrorist. So, this is pretty big news. Plus, there are loads of crimes that have 5 year sentences.

    French sauce: https://www.lcp.fr/actualites/justice-l-assemblee-autorise-l-activation-a-distance-des-telephones-portables-pour

    • @dark_stang@beehaw.org
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      51 year ago

      They’re calling all the current protesters terrorists. They’ll abuse this to put down any protest.

    • ATGM 🚀OP
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      01 year ago

      The English language article includes the wording delinquency. You’d say this is a false description, based on the French article?

      • bbbhltz
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        1 year ago

        The quote in the French article uses the term les grands délinquants. And in French it is just a synonym of criminal or someone who repeatedly breaks the law. So, not a false description.

        In France there are plenty of offences that can net you a maximum 5 year term, so this law will not go unused.

        And for those not in the know, France is civil law, not common law: the whole jury thing with lawyers making statements isn’t a thing here. Meaning that a judge’s interpretation of the law determines punishment.

        • ATGM 🚀OP
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          1 year ago

          So what this probably means in practice is that this power is assured to be abused to target activists and civil disobedience.

          As is tradition, whenever a repression institution is created, it’ll be used almost exclusively on the left with a few token Nazis thrown in if they get a little too terroristic for the current tastes of the powers that be.