ATTACK TO THE FREEDOM OF PRESS

French law prohibits disclosure of violent images

 

On this week (march 14th), the Constitutional Council of France approved a law that prohibits the diffusion of violent images in the internet by persons who are not professional journalists. The minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, says that he proposed this law to stop what he called happy slapping - action of adolescents that divulge shocking scenes in the internet, to the Jackass style. The setence to whom disobey the law will be of 5 years of prison and fines of 75 thousand euros.

In answer, the reporters without borders wrote a notice in alert for the fact of the law in certains way censure the disclosure of violence carried out by polices, many times recorded by amateurs. "It is a risk for the citizen information", said.

That law began to be studied in 2006, after the student revolt against the law of the first job, (Contract of First Job - CPE), that unsercured the work. The students occupied schools and universities and carried out solid protests. The violence of the police actions was recorded with cellular and cameras by demonstrators and made public in the internet.

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sensorship

Jesse Thomas, San Diego liberbertarian activist 07.May.2007 19:44

Briefly I want to say this is just plain sensorship. Governments, here and their do not have the honor to face their own crimes against citizens, so they do what they know best; intimidation.