French issue call to storm 'electronic Bastille'
Government to store personal information on people as young as 13
By Estelle Shirbon
Reuters
updated 11:23 a.m. MT, Thurs., Sept. 4, 2008
PARIS - Opposition to a new security database is gaining momentum in France as people return to work after a summer break during which the government authorized the state to store personal information on people as young as 13.
The decree creating the "Edvige" electronic database appeared in the official gazette on July 1, when the country was winding down for the summer, but news of its content has been gradually filtering out and is now stirring fierce criticism.
"The Edvige database has no place in a democracy," wrote Michel Pezet, a lawyer and former member of a body charged with protecting French citizens from electronic prying, in Thursday's edition of the newspaper Le Monde.
--MORE--
By Estelle Shirbon
Reuters
updated 11:23 a.m. MT, Thurs., Sept. 4, 2008
PARIS - Opposition to a new security database is gaining momentum in France as people return to work after a summer break during which the government authorized the state to store personal information on people as young as 13.
The decree creating the "Edvige" electronic database appeared in the official gazette on July 1, when the country was winding down for the summer, but news of its content has been gradually filtering out and is now stirring fierce criticism.
"The Edvige database has no place in a democracy," wrote Michel Pezet, a lawyer and former member of a body charged with protecting French citizens from electronic prying, in Thursday's edition of the newspaper Le Monde.
--MORE--