France bans citizen journalists from reporting violence

[seriousstan]

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.

The council chose an unfortunate anniversary to publish its decision approving the law, which came exactly 16 years after Los Angeles police officers beating Rodney King were filmed by amateur videographer George Holliday on the night of March 3, 1991. The officers’ acquittal at the end on April 29, 1992 sparked riots in Los Angeles.

If Holliday were to film a similar scene of violence in France today, he could end up in prison as a result of the new law, said Pascal Cohet, a spokesman for French online civil liberties group Odebi. And anyone publishing such images could face up to five years in prison and a fine of €75,000 (US$98,537), potentially a harsher sentence than that for committing the violent act.

Senators and members of the National Assembly had asked the council to rule on the constitutionality of six articles of the Law relating to the prevention of delinquency. The articles dealt with information sharing by social workers, and reduced sentences for minors. The council recommended one minor change, to reconcile conflicting amendments voted in parliament. The law, proposed by Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy, is intended to clamp down on a wide range of public order offenses. During parliamentary debate of the law, government representatives said the offense of filming or distributing films of acts of violence targets the practice of “happy slapping,” in which a violent attack is filmed by an accomplice, typically with a camera phone, for the amusement of the attacker’s friends.

http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/03/06/franceban/index.php

[nashville_brook]

1. creepiest thing i've read all day

[knowbody0]

2. down with technology!

Anything you need to know, we will show you.

Holy crap.

[Seldona]

3. Are these people kidding?

-During parliamentary debate of the law, government representatives said the offense of filming or distributing films of acts of violence targets the practice of “happy slapping,” in which a violent attack is filmed by an accomplice, typically with a camera phone, for the amusement of the attacker’s friends.-

Oh yes! Happy slapping! Scourge of Europe. Do they think people are that stupid? Are they taking lessons from the American right?

Sheesh!

[seriousstan]

4. No, I am convinced the politicians are this stupid. I think they are so knee-jerk they hit themselve...

I think they actually write these poorly written laws and don't even see the potential consequences. They are just 1 stooge short of a comedy.

[Solo_in_MD]

6. Napoleonic legal thinking at its best

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. It does happen; but existing laws should cover it, I'd think

"incitement to assault", or something like that. Even if the existing laws don't cover it, writing a law to cover that, but not people filming violence which they're not connected with, should be fairly easy.

[PaulaFarrell]

8. Happy slapping

FYI

http://forums.canadiancontent.net/news/46593-britain-exports-happy-slapping-france.html

PARIS — An enraged student pummels a teacher, hurling a classroom chair, swinging fists and wrestling her to the ground -- and the scene is captured by a fellow student on a cell phone camera.

The beating in a high school on the outskirts of Paris is forcing France to join other European countries tackling the spread of so-called "happy slapping," a fad in which violence is filmed and passed phone-to-phone or on the Internet for others to see.

The phenomenon -- which began in Britain, and whose name belies the gravity of the attacks -- involves mostly youths. Often, the victims are strangers.

Experts say it is rooted in voyeurism, violence on TV, a desire of some youths to show off and the spread of camera-enabled cell phones and the Digital Age.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1080274.ece

Happy slapping first emerged in London six months ago, but is now a nationwide phenomenon. In one of the more serious incidents Becky Smith, 16, was knocked unconscious and suffered temporary paralysis after she was attacked by fellow pupils at Plant Hill High, in Blackley, Manchester.

[KittyWampus]

12. Thanks for the info. People filming violence have an obligation to try and stop violence?

At the very least, an observer should be required to call police or an authority if they feel they don't have safe means of intervening.

As for what happens when an authority figure is engaging in violence, taping them is the only way citizens have to stand up for ourselves and each other .

This law should make that difference. Taping an authority figure who is commiting a violent act should NOT be illegal.

[PaulaFarrell]

13. With 'happy-slapping' the onlookers are complicit

And the violence often takes place just so that it can be recorded. Sick? definitely. As usual though, these laws use the sledgehammer approach, without consierding what they would mean to personal liberties.

[NashVegas]

14. Easy Way to Stop 'Happy Slapping'

Beat the ever-loving crap out of said slapper.

[PaulaFarrell]

15. so who should be doing this beating the crap out of?

The police, a public mob, the victim? What if the victim doesn't belive in violence? just curious.

[seriousstan]

16. A public mob sounds right to me. It is the public they are assaulting.

Much like someone trying to commandeer an airplane.

[stormymonday]

19. A crime for the terminally stupid

who helpfully leave an electronic record of their activities to ease prosecution at later date.

[alittlelark]

5. They are the Covert 'coalition of the willing'

The $$$ behind them is exercising it's AUTHORITY (key up Cartman).

[carla]

10. Lick mine...

children of "hamsters and smelly elderberry wine drinkers"...vive Python.

[Nihil]

9. Damn! You know what's next don't you?

US Marines will be claiming French citizenship in order to prevent
reporters from taking photographs of dead civilians!

:evilgrin:

[pampango]

11. Agreed. Don't give George any ideas for restricting freedoms

that he may not have thought of yet.

[Massachusetts]

17. Remember Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite

What happened???!!!

[Vincardog]

18. It is not about violence it is about web censorship see below

The government has also proposed a certification system for Web sites, blog hosters, mobile-phone operators and Internet service providers, identifying them as government-approved sources of information if they adhere to certain rules. The journalists’ organization Reporters Without Borders, which campaigns for a free press, has warned that such a system could lead to excessive self censorship as organizations worried about losing their certification suppress certain stories.