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| France Cracks Down on 'Happy Slapping' - |
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dithers
 Posted:
Thu Mar 08, 2007 10:57 am |
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France Cracks Down on 'Happy Slapping'
Looks like GWB's America isn't the only one taking away civil liberties.
| Quote: | 'Happy slap' crackdown sparks row
POSTED: 7:40 a.m. EST, March 8, 2007
Story Highlights
• New law in France forbids filming and Net posting of real-world violence
• Critics call it a clumsy, near-totalitarian effort to battle "happy slapping"
• Violators of the law will be subject to up to 5 years' jail and €75,000 in fines
PARIS, France (AP) -- A new law in France makes it a crime -- punishable by up to five years in prison -- for anyone who is not a professional journalist to film real-world violence and distribute the images on the Internet.
Critics call it a clumsy, near-totalitarian effort by authorities to battle "happy slapping" -- the youth fad of filming violent acts -- which most often they have provoked themselves -- and spreading the images on the Web or between mobile phones.
The measure, tucked deep into a vast anti-crime law that took effect Wednesday, took media advocates by surprise with what they say is an undesirable side effect: trampling on freedom of expression.
Experts said the law is the first of its kind in Europe. France made headlines years ago by ordering U.S.-based online company Yahoo to pay a fine of about $15 million for displaying Nazi memorabilia for sale -- in violation of French law.
The new provision takes on "happy slapping," a phenomenon whose name belies the gravity of the attacks. It mostly involves youths, and the victims often are strangers.
Violators of the law, passed in parliament in February, will be subject to up to five years in prison and €75,000 in fines ($98,600). It was championed by Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who is a top contender in France's presidential election in April and May.
The law was published in the government's Official Journal on Wednesday, bringing it into effect, after the Constitutional Council gave its final approval over the weekend.
Ligue Odebi, an association that seeks to protect freedom of expression on the Internet, said the measure will also hinder citizens' abilities to expose police brutality.
"This makes France the Western country that most infringes on freedom of expression and information -- particularly on the Internet," the group said in a statement on its Web site, www.odebi.org
"Identifying uploaders (of such images) would require the creation of a totalitarian surveillance of the Net," the group said.
Ligue Odebi noted that the council's approval Saturday fell on the 16th anniversary of the March 3, 1991, beating of motorist Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers in a scene captured on amateur video -- a case that sparked a national outcry in the United States.
The French law says that anyone who "knowingly" films illegal acts of violence and distributes the images can be considered an accomplice -- but that professional journalists are exempt.
French authorities have been seeking new ways to combat youth violence after a wave of rioting, car burnings and violence mostly in poor neighborhoods on the fringe of Paris and other cities in 2005.
Media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said it understood the government's need to crack down on "happy slapping," but feared the law draws a "dangerous" distinction that would punish "regular citizens" for doing what journalists are allowed to do.
"The sections of this law supposedly dealing with 'happy slapping' in fact have a much broader scope," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement. "Posting videos online showing violence against people could now be banned, even if it were the police carrying out the violence."
The measure has implications for online video sites like YouTube, or France's Dailymotion.com: Authorities could ask them to identify the sources of images made available through their sites.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/03/08/france.violence.ap/index.html |
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Pretty in Blonde
Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Posts: 3468
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| apodixis
Posted:
Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:20 am |
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I guess that the next step will be to ban media displaying of boxing, wrestling, soccer or hockey games. Vive la France. Inspector Clouseau strikes again.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_Clouseau
Last edited by apodixis on Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:23 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 3220
Location: State of Jefferson, Ecotopia
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| yankee-in-france
Posted:
Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:16 pm |
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Happy slapping is not funny. There was one in the US where the girl was seriously injured while being beat up by her 13 year old schoolmates who were also filming while they were beating her. They then put their film on the internet.
In other words, people are inflicting violence on innocent victims to film the violence and put it on the net. Sorry, this IS a crime. If they can't put their violence on the net, they won't commit the violence. It is being staged for the net.
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YIF
Joined: 30 Mar 2006
Posts: 6598
Location: France
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| dithers
Posted:
Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:29 pm |
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| yankee-in-france wrote: | Happy slapping is not funny. There was one in the US where the girl was seriously injured while being beat up by her 13 year old schoolmates who were also filming while they were beating her. They then put their film on the internet.
In other words, people are inflicting violence on innocent victims to film the violence and put it on the net. Sorry, this IS a crime. If they can't put their violence on the net, they won't commit the violence. It is being staged for the net. |
But this provision goes beyond that. How is this blanket law that affects many more than the 'happy slappers' any different than the liberties you protest are being taken from Americans in the fight against terrorists where there are also real crimes taking place?
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Pretty in Blonde
Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Posts: 3468
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| yankee-in-france
Posted:
Fri Mar 09, 2007 5:57 am |
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First of all, no one has the right -- adult or child -- to violently batter another person. I am sure that we agree on that. Why should it not also be illegal to put these assaults and beatings on the internet which are being staged solely for that purpose? Why would it be legal to cause physical harm to people and then post your beatings on the internet?
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YIF
Joined: 30 Mar 2006
Posts: 6598
Location: France
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