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French Law Could Ban Waze Police Reports When Law Enforcement Requires It

Waze has become one of the must-have apps for drivers out there. It's widely used not only to reach a certain destination faster but to also stay up to date with the conditions of the road ahead, including traffic jams, objects on the road, and police speed traps.
Police report on Waze app 1 photo
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But the possibility of reporting police checks on the road has caught the attention of the French authorities, who are now planning to introduce a new law that would temporarily ban this feature when certain checks are performed.

More specifically, the new law claims that local authorities could block apps like Waze and Coyote from showing the location of police forces whenever they are conducting checks related to terrorism, kidnappings, or operations concerning alcohol and drugs.

Projected to come into effect in November this year, the law is seen as a way to prevent criminals from avoiding the police, as MP Zivka Park says the Charlie Hebdo attackers managed to skip checks by permanently monitoring the location of law enforcement on Waze.

But organizations in France believe this is just the first step towards blocking police reports on the likes of Waze regardless of the reason. An online petition that calls for the authorities to give up on the proposal already has 326,000 supporters at the time of writing.

French officials warn that app developers who do not comply with the requirements would face fines up to €30,000, and unsurprisingly, Waze has already responded to confirm it would respect the law and implement changes as required by the authorities.

Our goal is to guide users towards the safest and fastest routes. We are aware of the new law and will take the necessary measures to apply it,” the company said according to a local media report.

The new law indicates that Waze and the rest of the apps wouldn’t be allowed to show the location of law enforcement for 2 hours if the police trap concerns drugs and alcohol and up to 12 hours for other criminal checks.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
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Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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