"France Approves Police Phone Surveillance for Enhanced Security Measures"

French lawmakers have approved a provision that would allow police to remotely activate the cameras, microphones, and GPS of suspects' phones and other devices. The measure, part of a wider justice reform bill, has been criticized as an authoritarian intrusion on privacy. It would apply to crimes punishable by at least five years' imprisonment and could also be used for suspects involved in terrorism, delinquency, and organized crime. The provision requires judicial approval and limits the duration of surveillance to six months. Sensitive professions such as doctors, journalists, lawyers, judges, and MPs would be exempt.