PARIS
The French senate has adopted an anti-terrorism bill that grants sweeping powers to French intelligence services despite strong criticism from rights groups.
The bill was adopted Tuesday by 251 votes in favor while 68 senators rejected it. The same bill had been approved by the National Assembly during a vote on May 5.
According to the bill, French intelligence agencies will now have the power to get real-time access to anyone in France’s data connection, email content, key log-ins, phone and mobile geo-location data without seeking permission from a judge.
French Internet rights group La Quadrature du Net strongly denounced the bill and feared it would create a French version of the infamous U.S. intelligence body, the NSA.
"This law was discussed urgently and under the pressure of government, using the extreme risk of terrorism to impose mass espionage on the French population for broad aims," the group said in a statement after the vote.
The law also calls for the creation of a new administrative body, the National Committee of Intelligence Technical Control, composed of nine members, including four judges, four MPs and a specialist in electronics communication. The body will be responsible for verifying the compliance of monitoring measures.
The bill is now expected to be signed into law by the French president within 15 days.
The controversial law comes in the backdrop of deadly terrorist strikes in France, including the recent Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris in January and reports that several French citizens have travelled abroad to join extremist groups such as Daesh in Syria and Iraq.
