2023-10-06 05:42:51
Published on Oct 6, 2023 at 7:42
“That’s the meaning of the story.” During the debate around the security and regulation of the digital space, the National Assembly adopted a proposal from the majority deputy Paul Midy, supported in committee by the government, to set for the State “the “objective in 2027 that 100% of French people can have access to a free digital identity”. A MoDem sub-amendment limited its scope, avoiding any binding obligation.
Supporters of this digital identity praise a means of accessing “public services” or “securing administrative procedures” thanks to devices such as the France Idêtes application to prove one’s identity with a mobile phone. After the “plastic” and “electronic” identity card, “obviously we have to move towards digital identity”, “public, regal”, “that’s the meaning of history”, said defended Paul Midy.
It is “in no way a means of monitoring the population”, but a “means of improving access to the law”, added the minister in charge of digital technology, Jean-Noël Barrot. “The problem is not digital certification per se, it is digital identity everywhere. We do not have to ask more in digital space than in real space,” retorted socialist Arthur Delaporte.
No vote on the end of anonymity
On the other hand, Paul Midy did not manage to achieve a majority on the end of online anonymity , because of “the level of violence on social networks”, by defending a principle of “license plate” of the French on the networks. As in committee, the member for Essonne ultimately chose to withdraw his amendments on the subject, so as not to “endanger the final vote” of the bill at first reading.
The executive had expressed its opposition to this system which risked contravening European rules or the Constitution, and which sparked a wave of protests from defenders of public freedoms. The left, the RN and voices from the majority, notably in MoDem, were also opposed to it.
A consensus against the measure
It is a measure of “repression”, denounced the Insoumise Ségolène Amiot, and a “red line” for the PS. “We do not want registration on the front, we are not cars”, nor “detainees”, launched RN Aurélien Lopez-Liguori. In the presidential camp, MoDem deputy Philippe Latombe criticized Paul Midy for seeking to “exist in the media”, with proposals that were “legally unfounded”.
Supported by “nearly 200 colleagues”, Paul Midy wanted to force social network users in 2027 to certify their identity to create an account, via a trusted third party and an encrypted system. After the withdrawal of his amendments, he considered that he had “made it possible to advance an important debate” regarding “cyberharassment”.
Earlier, in a much more consensual atmosphere, the National Assembly voted for Renaissance amendments to make digital awareness training compulsory in 6th grade. The generalization of this certificate, called Pix, was already planned for the start of the 2024 school year. The deputies also planned a renewal of the certificate at the end of middle school.
With AFP
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