French court orders ISPs to block cop-watch website

http://jurist.org/paperchase/2011/10/france-court-orders-block-on-copwatch-website.php

by hastur • 15 years ago

5 1 15 years ago

A French court has ordered ISPs to block access to Copwatch Nord Paris I-D-F, a website designed to allow civilians to post videos of alleged police misconduct.

egiva• 15 years ago

I think the right to film a public official doing his/her duty in a public setting should be a no-brainer.

However, this article goes to state that in France, there is no right to free speech (no equivalent to the US First Amendment), which I think is 100% false.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech_by_country#Fr...

The French Revolution followed our own US Revolution and Constitution fairly closely, and the French "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen" also guarantees the right to free and open speech, as a cornerstone of a free and open democracy. The difference being that the courts can limit certain types of content that harms the public (i.e. Nazi propaganda, certain types of pornography, etc). I think those are valid arguments that the courts rightfully decide in regards to where free speech ends, and harming the rights of others begin.

French court orders ISPs to block cop-watch website

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