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Following the global uproar over a police assault on a black man, French legislators say they will completely rewrite a section of a contentious security bill.
On Saturday, massive protests took place around France against Article 24 of the law, which tries to regulate how individuals share video or images of police officers.
There are concerns that the new law would deter citizens from reporting police violence.
Four police officers have been charged with assaulting black music producer Michel Zecler in Paris.
The incident occurred earlier this month at his studio, and the video was released last week.
Article 24 “will be totally changed and a new version will be filed,” said Christophe Castaner, the chairman of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist MPs in parliament.
“We know there are still uncertainties,” the ex-interior minister said, “but we can never tolerate any restrictions on press freedom or images.”
“Article 24 would have had no effect on the propagation of those photographs we’ve seen in recent days,” he continued.
Advocates claim that the measure, which was passed by the lower house last week, will safeguard police officers from harassment and social media targeting.
However, detractors argue that media freedom and individuals’ ability to film police action should not be hampered, especially when the French police are currently under fire for suspected racism.
On Saturday, protests over the bill devolved into fights with police in Paris.
