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French police should be able to spy on suspects by remotely activating the camera, microphone and GPS of their phones and other devices, lawmakers agreed late Wednesday.
The camera, microphone, and GPS of suspects' phones and other gadgets should be remotely activated by police in France, lawmakers decided late on Wednesday.
The bill would enable the geolocation of suspects in crimes punishable by at least five years in prison and cover laptops, vehicles, and other linked things in addition to phones.
Additionally, devices could be remotely activated to record audio and video of suspects in terrorism-related crimes as well as organized crime and delinquency.
The clauses "raise serious concerns over infringements of fundamental liberties," said a statement from the digital rights organization La Quadrature du Net in May.
During debate on Wednesday, MPs in President Emmanuel Macron's camp inserted an amendment 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 approved by a judge, while the total duration of the surveillance cannot exceed six months.
The contentious provision was included in an article with many other measures and approved by the National Assembly as part of a larger justice reform package that was being debated in the legislature.
