Citation:
Sayer, Peter. "France Bans Citizen Journalists From Reporting Violence." InfoWorld 6 Mar. 2007. 17
Mar. 2007 <http://www.infoworld.com/>.
Summary:
France has banned citizen journalists from filming violent act in an attempt to stop “happy slapping.” They say only those whose job it is to report on violent acts or people who are filming for evidence are the only ones allowed to film. Acts are punishable by 5 years in prison and a fine equivalent to $98,537, which is sometimes more than the violent act itself. The government is also proposing a certification system for Web sites, blog hosting sites, mobile-phone operators and Internet service providers. The government will approve them if they abide by certain rules. Reporters without Borders is worried that such a system would cause excessive self-censorship by these companies in an effort to be approved by the government.
Quotes:
” He is concerned that the law, and others still being debated, will lead to the creation of a parallel judicial system controlling the publication of information on the Internet.” (he=Pascal Cohet, a spokesman for French online civil liberties group Odebi)
Review/Analysis
This article is important in that is it the first piece of legislation (at least that i’ve come across) that explicitly distinguishes “citizen journalists” (bloggers) and professional journalists. Apparently, the French government does NOT think that bloggers should have the same rights as journalists. This, in their hopes, will stop happy slapping (like when Billy slaps Jessie so Billy & friends can film it and laugh at it later). They are assuming that, if these people will be prosecuted if they are caught, they’ll stop doing it. The law does, however, allow people to videotape acts that will then be used in jurisdiction, so that’s good.
I can use this to discuss, in my paper, what people really think of bloggers vs. journalists. Clearly, the French government does not feel that they deserve the same rights. It seems like they’re making a judgment on the type of people bloggers/citizen journalists are–irresponsible and destructive. I think this will have a huge backlash in the blogging community because many bloggers are not these types of people.
You’ll have to excuse me for a second…I’m about to become completely and opendly unbiased in reviewing this information. WTF FRANCE?! I understand your intentions. Yeah, i wanna stop unruly teens from hurting people too, but i can’t fix the whole world! just because you don’t let them film it anymore doesn’t mean they wont do it. This will definitely lead to censorship of more things (i know, slippery slope isn’t that reliable logic-wise, but i still think there’s some truth to it, esp here). Without the check of the press, the government will be able to get away with more. What if people now can’t report on things that political people do? oh, actually, the law thought of that…anyway, nevermind all this political stuff, gettin me all riled up.
