The National Assembly votes for the upkeep of the confidentiality of encrypted messaging, throughout a stressed evening | EUROtoday

The National Assembly voted, within the night of Thursday, March 20 on the finish of a vote disrupted by a extraordinarily technical failure, for the upkeep of the confidentiality of encrypted messaging, the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, having didn’t persuade a majority of deputies of the deserves of a measure meant to battle towards drug traffickers.

Mr. Retailleau initially wished to impose on the encrypted messaging platforms (sign, WhatsApp, and so forth.) to speak the correspondence of traffickers to the intelligence providers.

But the deputies had abolished this measure, which aggregates towards it many actors and consultants in cybersecurity, within the legislation committee final week. In their eyes, there’s an excessive amount of threat of making a fault that places at risk of the conversations of all of the customers of those platforms.

In the hemicycle, three deputies of the central block proposed a rewriting of the article, considering, in keeping with them, the “Concerns” raised. But with out succeeding in convincing, together with a number of deputies from their camp. After heated debates, the place the Minister of the Interior was accused of desirous to return his measurement “By the window”and the deputies of amendments to be his “Flining door”the Assembly proceeded to vote by public election.

A system failure

But a breakdown of the system then prevented the accounting of votes. For an hour, the providers tried to restore it, in useless. Some deputies have even questioned about the opportunity of hacking.

“We are not victims of a dysfunction linked to IT security”reassured the vice-president (horizons and unbiased) Naïma Moutchou when the session resumes. “It’s a small part of the system that heated … under tension”she mentioned, laughing.

The National Assembly carried out one other type of public election, extra laborious: for half an hour, Naïma Moutchou referred to as the title of every of the 577 deputies. Elected officers to reply for or towards the microphone. Shortly earlier than midnight, the vice-president introduced the outcome which was not unsure: 119 votes towards, 24 for.

“Generalized surveillance”

It is a backhand for Bruno Retailleau, who had however began the night, with the vote of a low consensual measure: the recourse, as a part of an experiment, with algorithmic intelligence to detect threats linked to organized crime.

The “rebellious”, environmentalist and communist deputies succeeded one another on the microphone to denounce a brand new step “Towards generalized monitoring”. “These are extremely wide nets that will be thrown on our private lives and on our freedom of opinion, expression, to come and come”castigated the deputy (La France Insoumise, LFI) of Isère Elisa Martin.

At the identical time, these elected officers denounced not having obtained any of the reviews, supplied for within the legislation, to evaluate the effectiveness of this algorithmic surveillance, already approved for the prevention of terrorism and overseas interference. On the opposite, “These are line fishing”defended the Minister of the Interior eradicating an necessary management system. “It’s supervised, it’s targeted”, he assured.

Redesign of the “repentant” regime

Earlier within the day, it was the Minister of Justice who was on the bench to defend this legislation towards drug trafficking. Gérald Darmanin, skilled extra peaceable exchanges, and the hemicycle even attended a uncommon understanding between the Keeper of Seals and LFI deputies across the overhaul of the regime of “Repentis”. “If there is at least one device with which we agree, it is this”mentioned the elected “rebellious” of Essonne Antoine Léaument, creator of a latest report recommending a legalization of hashish.

Unanimously, the deputies voted for a extra engaging regime which takes mannequin on the Italian antimafia legislation. In France, there are forty-two “repentants” towards virtually a thousand in Italy, in keeping with figures given by the Minister of Justice. Gold “If we don’t make people who are in criminal organizations are not talked about, we will not have any information” To dismantle them.

With the brand new system, the “repentants” may see their sentence decreased to 2 thirds. It can be prolonged to individuals who have dedicated a blood crime. An implementing decree should specify its contours (new id, household, penalties, and so forth.). Gérald Darmanin undertook to work in session with parliamentarians on his writing. The debates on the textual content will proceed on Friday within the National Assembly.