As part of the bill on securing the digital space, Mounir Belhamiti, Renaissance MP, withdraws his controversial amendment on the use of VPNs, indicates France Inter.
The amendment carried by the majority proposing the ban on the use of a VPN, a virtual private network, on social networks has been withdrawn, reports France Inter, Monday September 18. While the bill on securing the digital space must be examined this week by the National Assembly, this amendment, carried by Mounir Belhamiti, Renaissance deputy for Nantes, caused controversy last weekend.
>> School harassment: the parents of a teenage girl who committed suicide file a complaint against TikTok, a first in France
VPNs (for “virtual private network” in French) are software allowing you to create a direct link between remote computers, and therefore to secure connections. This type of software is used in particular in cybersecurity, to make its connection difficult to trace and by Internet users seeking to access geolocated content. The use of VPNs in France is perfectly legal as long as their use is not used for illicit acts.
Signed by several deputies of the majority and carried by Mounir Belhamiti, Renaissance deputy of Nantes, this amendment was therefore aimed “to prohibit any user of a social network from publishing, commenting or interacting using a virtual private network”we can read in the summary of the amendment. “The VPN blurs the possibility of identification” in the event of legal requisitions. As part of an investigation, authorities can ask social media operators for information on even an anonymous user, such as their IP address.
The ban on VPNs: an amendment that sparked many reactions
Other amendments also mention the control of VPNs, in particular for minors’ access to pornography. But that of Mounir Belhamiti is the one which has attracted the most reactions in the digital world. The political sphere also reacted: “The Macronist tyranny has reached a new stage, their deputies have just tabled an amendment to prohibit the use of a VPN (…) and then we lecture North Korea, Iran, Russia?” , posted on the social network X Florian Philippot, president of the Patriots. Even within the majority, this amendment raised eyebrows. The Renaissance deputy, Eric Bothorel, estimated that “the ban on VPNs, if it were proposed, would not strengthen the security of internet users, but on the contrary a considerable weakening of their experience on the web. It is one of the optional building blocks of trust in a network”did he declare.
Contacted by France Inter, the entourage of Minister of Digital Jean-Noël Barrot indicated that it seemed “complicated to question the right of citizens to protect their personal data”. This Sunday morning, in a long publication on “will not submit the amendment for discussion”.