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Égalité, Fraternité - Oui, peut-etre. Liberté? NON, French speedcam Facebookers told

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A judge in France has slapped a month-long driving ban on 15 people for posting info about speed cameras on Facebook.

The court in Rodez, a small town north-east of Toulouse in the south of France, took a very literal interpretation of article R413-5V of the French rules of the road, which makes it illegal to alert drivers to the presence of a police check or speed camera.

However, the decision to seize the driving licences of those responsible has been slammed as “disproportionate”.

Ingrid Attal, president of the Commission Juridique de l'Association 40 Millions d'Automobilistes (an advocate organisation for “reasonable and responsible” drivers) told Ouest France Online that she was certain the drivers didn’t think they were doing anything illegal.

She added that people viewing the page need not worry because the law does not cover those receiving information, only those disclosing it.

However, this piece of jurisprudence could inspire other French courts to get tough on online information sharing. An online reviewer was recently fined for posting an unfavourable restaurant review. ®

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