France bans filming of violence
{{date|March 8, 2007}}

[[Image:Strasbourg torched car.jpg|thumb|200px|Amateur photograph from the [[w:2005 civil unrest in France|French 2005 riots]]]]
On Saturday, the [[w:French Constitutional Council|French Constitutional Council]] announced its approval for a proposed law that would make it illegal for anybody other than professional journalists to videotape acts of violence.

The law is, as the [[w:Associated Press|Associated Press]] dubs it, a "clumsy effort" to curb the urban youth activity known as [[w:Happy slapping|happy slapping]] in which an act of violence, such as kicking a helpless victim, is filmed by the attacker's friends for entertainment purposes.

The new law was tucked inside a much larger anti-crime bill put before the Council, and has been chastised for being "deliberately" vague and allowing the prosecution of non-guilty parties who simply videotape events of police brutality, urban riots or other violence.  Under the new legislation, written by [[w:Minister of the Interior (France)|Minister of the Interior]] [[w:Nicolas Sarkozy|Nicolas Sarkozy]], convicted "citizen journalists" could face up to five years in prison.

Media freedom group [[w:Reporters Without Borders|Reporters Without Borders]] has called the act "dangerous", and warned that it can be used to target "regular citizens" who film acts of violence. The group has also attacked proposed French legislation that would designate certain media outlets as "government-approved sources of information", citing the dangers of [[w:censorship|censorship]].

==Sources==
*{{source|url=http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/technology/16853953.htm
|title=France bars non-journalists from recording videos of violence
|author= 
|pub=Associated Press
|date=March 7, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/macworld/20070306/tc_macworld/franceban20070306_0
|title=France bans citizen journalists from reporting violence
|author=Peter Sayer, IDG News Service
|pub=Yahoo! News
|date=March 6, 2007}}

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[[Category:Crime and law]]
[[Category:Media]]
[[Category:Journalism]]
[[Category:France]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:Reporters Without Borders]]
[[Category:Free speech]]

[[fr:France : filmer des actes de violence est interdit pour les non-journalistes]]
French 2005 riots
On Saturday, the French Constitutional Council announced its approval for a proposed law that would make it illegal for anybody other than professional journalists to videotape acts of violence.

The law is, as the Associated Press dubs it, a "clumsy effort" to curb the urban youth activity known as happy slapping in which an act of violence, such as kicking a helpless victim, is filmed by the attacker's friends for entertainment purposes.

The new law was tucked inside a much larger anti-crime bill put before the Council, and has been chastised for being "deliberately" vague and allowing the prosecution of non-guilty parties who simply videotape events of police brutality, urban riots or other violence.  Under the new legislation, written by Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy, convicted "citizen journalists" could face up to five years in prison.

Media freedom group Reporters Without Borders has called the act "dangerous", and warned that it can be used to target "regular citizens" who film acts of violence. The group has also attacked proposed French legislation that would designate certain media outlets as "government-approved sources of information", citing the dangers of censorship.


fr:France : filmer des actes de violence est interdit pour les non-journalistes
Crime and law Media Journalism France Europe Reporters Without Borders Free speech