French Parliament approves contentious remote spying clause using phones and other devices

In a move that has sparked concerns over civil liberties, French lawmakers agreed on Wednesday to grant the police the authority to remotely activate cameras, microphones, and GPS devices on suspects’ phones and other connected devices. 

The legislation, which extends to laptops, cars, and other Internet devices, also permits geolocation tracking of suspects involved in crimes punishable by a minimum of five years in prison. 

Despite assurances from the justice minister that the new measures will be applied sparingly, opposition from the left and human rights activists remains steadfast.

France’s justice minister insists that the legislation will only touch “dozens of cases a year.”

According to AFP, devices might also be remotely activated to capture sound and photos of anyone suspected of terrorism, delinquency, and organized crime.

The measures raise severe concerns about violations of fundamental liberties, according to a statement issued in May by the digital rights group La Quadrature du Net.

The group cited the ‘right to security, right to a private life and to private correspondence’ and ‘the right to come and go freely’, calling the proposal part of a ‘slide into heavy-handed security’.

During Wednesday’s debate, members of President Emmanuel Macron’s parliament proposed limiting the use of remote spying to “when justified by the nature and seriousness of the crime” and “for a strictly proportional duration.”

Any use of the provision must be permitted by a judge, and the entire period of the surveillance cannot exceed six months. Sensitive professions such as doctors, journalists, attorneys, judges, and members of parliament would not be legitimate targets.

The controversial provision, which was part of an article including many other measures, was approved by National Assembly members as part of a larger justice overhaul package being debated in the French parliament.