Olympic Games: Mass Surveillance and Political Discrimination
The Olympic Games have just begun, and surveillance and repression are at the forefront. In the lead-up to the event, the French state has deployed all the security measures accumulated over the past few years: drones, QR codes, security perimeters, algorithmic video surveillance, house arrests, intense police presence, helicopters… Unprecedentedly, all these resources are being employed simultaneously and on a massive scale. Amid this repressive frenzy, another exceptional measure stands out: the extraordinary use of police files to exclude individuals with militant activities from jobs related to the Olympics. This is a form of discrimination based on opaque criteria that is totally unacceptable.
La Quadrature du Net promotes and defends fundamental freedoms in the digital environment. The organization fights against censorship and surveillance, whether they come from states or private companies. It questions how the digital world and society influence each other. It works for a free, decentralized, and empowering internet.
Translation: Alain Marshal
Digging Up the Past in the Name of Security
In France, the accumulation of information on the population through “fichage” (profiling) is a long-standing practice used extensively by the police and intelligence services. But over the past twenty years, the number of files has exploded, as has the scope of information collected and the range of people targeted. Simultaneously, their use has been greatly facilitated with minimal control, while their legitimacy is increasingly less contested in political and media spheres. As a reminder, in case this principle has been forgotten, in a true democratic logic, the State has no business knowing what its population does or thinks, and shouldn’t but in exceptional cases keep records of certain information concerning individuals’ actions. However, as we observe with all forms of surveillance, these theoretical principles are discarded in the name of security and “utility”. Any available information can thus be kept preventively, regardless of proportionality or necessity, turning everyone into a potential suspect. The Olympic Games now exemplify where this excess, coupled with the increasing criminalization of activism, leads.
In 2016, the law on criminal procedure created the notion of a “major event”, defined by Article L.211–11–1 of the Internal Security Code, covering events exposed “by their scale or particular circumstances, to an exceptional risk of terrorist threat”. When a gathering is designated as such by decree, anyone working at or near the event (technicians, volunteers, caregivers, security guards, etc.) must undergo an administrative investigation. Following this investigation, the “National Security Administrative Investigations Service” (SNEAS), created in 2017, now issues a binding opinion. If unfavorable, the person cannot work at the event.
