It denounces "a serious invasion of privacy and a security one-upmanship". The association for the defense of freedoms on the Internet La Quadrature du Net criticized Wednesday the possibility for judicial investigators to remotely activate the electronic devices of a person without his knowledge, provided for by the justice bill.
The government has presented the #PJLJustice. It contains an art 3 that would allow the police to hack connected objects to monitor their owners. We are co-signing this OLN press release to denounce this extremely worrying measure.https://t.co/PYhydJIOII
— La Quadrature du Net (@laquadrature) May 31, 2023
Article 3 of the bill for "faster" justice, which will be examined next week in the Senate, provides for the new possibility for investigators to activate a person's mobile phone or other connected device without his knowledge in order to capture sound or images. However, it limits this possibility to crimes and misdemeanours punishable by more than 5 years' imprisonment.
"Police intrusion"
This will make it possible, for example, to activate the microphone or camera of a phone or computer, even if they are not on, to film or listen to the surroundings, explains La Quadrature du Net, or to geolocate a driver via the electronic system of his car.
"Technically, the police will exploit the security flaws of these devices to install software that allows you to take control of them and transform your tools, those of your loved ones or different places, into cookies," says the association.
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Investigators could also use other connected devices, ranging from televisions to baby monitors and voice assistants, through watches or connected scooters, warns La Quadrature du Net. "If this text were definitively adopted, it would dangerously multiply the possibilities of police intrusion, by transforming all our computer tools into potential spies."
'Serious concerns'
This possibility was also denounced in mid-May by the Council of the Paris Bar Association, for which "it constitutes a particularly serious attack on respect for private life that cannot be justified by the protection of public order".
"In addition, the draft does not prohibit (...) listening to conversations in his office, between the lawyer and his client, even if their transcription is prohibited. This is an unacceptable infringement and contrary to professional secrecy and the rights of the defence," insisted the Bar Council.
"Article 3 of the LOPJ raises serious concerns about the infringement of fundamental rights and freedoms (right to security, right to privacy, secrecy of correspondence, right to come and go freely). This is why we call on all parliamentarians to work for the abolition of these provisions," concludes La Quadrature du Net.
