France passes new surveillance law in wake of Charlie Hebdo attack
The French parliament has overwhelmingly approved sweeping new surveillance powers in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris in January that killed 17 people at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery in Paris. The new bill, which allows intelligence agencies to tap phones and emails without seeking permission from a judge, sparked protests from rights groups who claimed it would legalise highly intrusive surveillance methods without guarantees for individual freedom and privacy.
Protesters for civil liberties groups launched a last-ditch campaign against the bill under the banner "24 hours before 1984" in reference to George Orwell's dystopian novel about life under an all-knowing dictatorship. Groups including Amnesty International warned of "extremely large and intrusive powers" without judicial controls.