France: new law allows government surveillance of smartphones

The recent legislative measure adopted in France has enabled the police authorities to remotely control the camera, microphone and GPS of smartphones and various devices. Similar to the wiretap clearance process, this measure requires judicial approval and aims to streamline some investigations. Eric Dupond-Moretti, the justice minister, said it would only be a small number of cases a year. However, there have been negative responses from many quarters, with allegations of violations of privacy and basic civil liberties.

Cases and restrictions of the law

This concession of surveillance was expressly provided for crimes carrying a prison sentence of at least five years and predominantly for individuals suspected of terrorism, delinquency and organized crime, as reported by Le Monde. An amendment coming from President Macron's group, which limits the cases and periods in which this measure can be implemented, has not managed to quell the controversy. The provision also provides for specific exemptions for certain professions: the devices of doctors, journalists, lawyers, judges and parliamentarians cannot be subjected to this form of surveillance.

Criticisms and concerns of the association La Quadrature du Net

La Quadrature du Net, an association known in Europe for the protection of privacy, has shown itself to be strongly critical of the law. Last May, when the law was still under discussion, the association highlighted how the measure harmed the "right to security, the right to private life and private correspondence" and the "right to free movement", dismissing the proposal as component of a drift towards "overconfidence".

Technicalities and similar reforms in Italy

To implement this policy, you need to install a specific type of malware on your devices, or use powerful legal spyware like Pegasus. The latter, recently at the center of media attention for its use in spying on parliamentarians and journalists globally – two of the professional categories exempted by French law – could be a potential candidate. We recall that a similar regulation also exists in Italy, with legislation on the "state trojan" dating back to 2017. However, the French regulatory bodies seem to have wanted to go further, introducing even more invasive espionage tools.