France bans filming of violence
The French Constitutional Council has enacted a law to prevent the filming of an act of violence by anybody other than a professional journalist, according to a report from Macworld.
While the law is meant to target the practice of “happy slapping,” it seems as if it could be citizen journalists who get slapped down, a French civil liberties organization argues, referencing the 1991 Rodney King incident. The law is also notable for drawing a distinction between who is a professional journalist and a citizen journalist.
Rather than targeting the actual assault with punishment, the French council is targeting the filming of the act. Such a law, enacted without being narrowly tailored, could have far-reaching consequences.
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