French gov’t allowed to block sites featuring ‘terrorism’ with no court order

As part of a massive counterterrorism campaign, the French government has adopted a new decree to block websites accused of promoting terrorism and distributing child pornography without requiring any court order to issue a block request. Under the new decree published by the French Ministry of Interior, Internet service providers must block the offending website within 24 hours after receiving notification from law enforcement agencies.

The French government and the French National Police will decide which sites should be blocked. The new decree has been heavily criticized by civil rights groups on the grounds of legalizing internet censorship, asserting that it went too far in censoring content on the Internet while violating the right to free speech.

France took action to restore order and security to French youths who have been radicalized and recruited by the Islamic State and al-Sham (ISIS) militants. Following the Charlie Hebdo attack on January 7, France has taken tough security measures in order to further prevent terrorist attack.

While reassessing the terrorist threat, it has been acknowledged that homegrown militants have become a major threat to European countries. The large number of homegrown terrorists is an indication that European countries have to take significant security measures to stop the flow of militants who are looking to return to their homelands or want to travel abroad to fight alongside ISIS militants.

Therefore, counterterrorism measures are now to be strengthened. The security threat posed by Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)-linked homegrown militants has recently drawn much more attention mainly in France and other European countries. Ever since the rise of ISIS, European countries have been increasingly anxious about their countries turning into ISIS-recruiting hubs. Counterterrorism measures and the threat posed by Europeans joining ISIS are primarily discussed in EU meetings.