Background on "happy slapping": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_slapping -------- Original Message -------- Subject: France bans citizen journalists from reporting violence Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2007 08:57:02 -0700 From: Richard Smith <richard2@fastermail.com> To: declan@well.com http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/03/06/franceban/index.php?lsrc=mwrss quote: The French Constitutional Council has approved a law that criminalizes the filming or broadcasting of acts of violence by people other than professional journalists. The law could lead to the imprisonment of eyewitnesses who film acts of police violence, or operators of Web sites publishing the images, one French civil liberties group warned on Tuesday. Apparenly there's little mention of it in the mainstream french media. You can read the press release from Odebi here (in french): http://www.odebi.org/new2/?p=223 -------- Original Message -------- Subject: FRANCE : New prevention of criminality law poses threat to citizen reporting / FRANCE : Loi sur la privention de la dilinquance , un risque pour l'information citoyenne Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 16:46:56 +0100 From: rsf.Internet <internet@rsf.org> To: internet@rsf.org English / frangais 7.03.07 Reporters Without Borders / Internet Freedom desk FRANCE NEW PREVENTION OF CRIMINALITY LAW POSES THREAT TO CITIZEN REPORTING Reporters Without Borders voiced concern today about a new French law on the prevention of criminality following its approval by the constitutional council on 5 March. "The sections of this law supposedly dealing with 'happy slapping' in fact have a much broader scope, and posting videos online showing violence against people could now be banned, even if it were the police who were carrying out the violence," the organisation said. "We make no assumptions about the government's intentions and we recognise the need to prevent the spread of 'happy slapping,' but this law introduces a dangerous distinction between professional journalists, allowed to disseminate images of violence, and ordinary citizens, who could be jailed for the same thing," Reporters Without Borders continued. "It is particularly regrettable that the law would forbid the online distribution of images showing acts of violence by the security forces," the press freedom organisation added. The law on the prevention of criminality (http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/12/ta/ta0680.asp), which was adopted on 13 February, was referred to the constitutional council by the socialist group in parliament. The referral did not specifically concern the section dealing with 'happy slapping.' The law provides for sentences of up to five years in prison and fines of 75,000 euros for disseminating images concerning the offences listed in 222-1 to 222-14-1 and 222-23 to 222-31 of the criminal code. These offences range from acts of serious violence ("torture" and "acts of barbarity") to ordinary physical attacks. Article 222-13 concerns violence "committed by an agent of the state in the exercise of his duties." The law specifies that the ban "is not applicable when the recording or dissemination is the result of the normal exercise of a profession whose purpose is to inform the public or if it is carried out with the aim of serving as judicial evidence." 'Happy slapping' is a physical attack on a person carried out with the aim of obtaining a video recording of the attack, which is then circulated by mobile phone or posted on the Internet. Reporters Without Borders points out that all Internet users are now in a position to participate in the creation and dissemination of information. They are often the "recorders" of an event, especially thanks to mobile phones with photo and video capability, and can disseminate their own content online. These "citizen journalists" can play a role in monitoring the activities of the authorities throughout the world. In Egypt, for example, bloggers recently revealed a series of scandals involving the security services and showed, by means of video recordings made clandestinely in detention centres, that torture is still regularly practised in Egypt. In the field of human rights, it is them and not professional journalists who have been responsible for the most reliable reports and information - the information that has most upset the government. Reporters Without Borders thinks it would be shocking if this kind of activity, which constitutes a safeguard against abuses of authority, were to be criminalized in a democratic country. ********* Create your blog with Reporters Without Borders, and read our weekly blog review at www.rsfblog.org ---------------------------- FRANCE LOI SUR LA PREVENTION DE LA DELINQUANCE : UN RISQUE POUR L'INFORMATION CITOYENNE Reporters sans frontihres exprime son inquiitude aprhs la validation par le Conseil constitutionnel, le 5 mars 2007, de la loi sur la privention de la dilinquance. "Les passages de ce texte censis traiter du 'happy slapping' ont en rialiti une portie beaucoup plus large. Les internautes se voient disormais interdire de publier des vidios montrant des violences sur personne, mjme si ces actes sont commis par les forces de police", a diclari l'organisation. "Nous ne prisumons pas des intentions du gouvernement et reconnaissons qu'il est nicessaire d'empjcher la propagation du 'happy slapping'. Mais cette loi introduit une distinction dangereuse entre les journalistes professionnels, autorisis ` diffuser des images de violences, et les simples citoyens, qui risquent la prison pour les mjmes faits. Il est particulihrement regrettable que ce texte instaure une interdiction de faire circuler sur Internet les images d'iventuelles exactions commises par les forces de l'ordre", a ajouti l'organisation. La loi sur la privention de la dilinquance (http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/12/ta/ta0680.asp), adoptie le 13 fivrier 2007, avait iti portie devant le Conseil constitutionnel par le groupe socialiste ` l'Assemblie. Mais la saisine ne portait pas spicifiquement sur le passage de la loi didii au happy slapping. Le texte privoit des peines allant jusqu'` cinq ans de prison et 75 000 euros d'amende pour la diffusion d'images portant sur les infractions mentionnies dans les articles 222-1 ` 222-14-1 et 222-23 ` 222-31 du code pinal. Les dilits concernis vont des actes de violence graves ("tortures" et "actes de barbarie") ` de simples agressions. L'article 222-13 porte sur les violences "commises par un dipositaire de l'autoriti publique (?) dans l'exercice (?) de ses fonctions". La loi pricise que cette interdiction "n'est pas applicable lorsque l'enregistrement ou la diffusion risulte de l'exercice normal d'une profession ayant pour objet d'informer le public ou est rialisi afin de servir de preuve en justice". Le Happy slapping est l'agression physique d'une personne commise dans le but d'obtenir un film de cette agression. Le document vidio est ensuite ichangi par le biais de tiliphones portables ou publii sur Internet. Reporters sans frontihres rappelle que tous les internautes ont aujourd'hui la possibiliti de participer ` la criation et ` la diffusion de l'information. Ils sont parfois les "capteurs" d'un ivinement, grbce notamment aux tiliphones portables capables d'enregistrer des images et des vidios, et peuvent diffuser leurs propres contenus sur le Net. Ces "journalistes citoyens" ont notamment une fonction de surveillance de l'activiti des pouvoirs publics partout dans le monde. En Egypte, par exemple, des blogueurs ont ricemment rivili une sirie de scandales impliquant les services de sicuriti et dimontri, au moyen de vidios tournies clandestinement dans des centres de ditention, que la torture itait encore rigulihrement pratiquie dans ce pays. Dans le domaine des droits de l'homme, ce sont eux, et non des journalistes professionnels, qui ont iti ` l'origine des informations les plus fiables et les plus dirangeantes pour le gouvernement. Reporters sans frontihres considhre qu'il serait choquant que ce type d'activiti, qui constitue un garde-fou important contre d'iventuelles dirives du pouvoir, soit criminalisi dans un pays dimocratique. -- Bureau Internet et libertis / Internet Freedom desk ___________________________________________ Reporters sans frontihres / Reporters Without Borders TEL: ++ 33 (0) 1 44 83 84 71 FAX: ++ 33 (0) 1 45 23 11 51 internet@rsf.org www.internet.rsf.org www.rsfblog.org - Do something good by creating your blog with us. - Read our weekly "blog review" www.leblogmedias.com / "L'actualiti des midias" (en frangais) Read our handbook for bloggers and cyber-dissidents : http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=542 _______________________________________________ Politech mailing list Archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/) ----- End forwarded message ----- -- Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org ______________________________________________________________ ICBM: 48.07100, 11.36820 http://www.ativel.com 8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A 7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE [demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type application/pgp-signature which had a name of signature.asc]