The French government led by President Emmanuel Macron is looking at the use of artificial intelligence and other technology to track the online activities of suspected terror actors, reported the Wall Street Journal. This move comes amid warnings of growing tensions that can lead to a civil war.
Prime Minister Jean Castex explained that the French government seeks to submit a proposal to parliament. This plan aims to obtain permanent power to command telecommunications firms to keep track of phone data and the full URL of web pages visited by terror suspects.
This plan will make use of algorithms to provide alerts to intelligence officials when the system flags particular activities. An example of the criteria is when a user visits a specific series of web pages.
The new counterterrorism and intelligence proposal seeks to expand the existing surveillance system, which was deployed in 2017. In the original system, telecommunications companies only monitor metadata on networks using three algorithms that detect patterns that could suggest terror acts.
The existing system was thought to have “interesting results.” However, the data collected through the old surveillance process remains limited as it does not provide “a sufficient level of relevance and specificity.” It will also end at the end of July, opening up the opportunity for a new bill.
Meanwhile, the new bill proposes the use of an expanded telephone-based surveillance system that not only takes into account text messages and calls but also Internet activity.
Intelligence officials would need to seek approval from interior Minister Gerard Darmanin, as well as the prime minister, and an external agency before unveiling the person who triggers the intelligence alert.
President Macron took this action under pressure to address warnings of terrorism and Islamist separatism, which his administration says to be responsible for the radical attacks by the country’s Muslim minority.
Marine Le Pen, who leads the anti-immigrant National Rally party, also expressed her support for a group of retired generals who publicized a letter in Valuers Actuelles, a far-right magazine.
According to the letter, the spreading of Islamist and ideologies can result in a civil war. The letter said, “There’s no time for procrastination. Otherwise, tomorrow a civil war will put an end to this growing chaos. And the dead, for whom you’ll bear responsibility, will number in the thousands.”
Aside from newly gathered data, the new system will also allow officers to use old data to train artificial intelligence.