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France strikes down ban on consulting ‘terrorist websites’

PARIS – France’s top constitutional court has struck down a contentious law that that handed down jail time for consulting “terrorist websites,” saying it infringed on the ability of people to communicate freely.

The 2016 law, approved after the attacks in Paris in the previous year, was intended to stem the influence of jihadi social networks and online propaganda. It made exceptions for purposes of research or for informing the public. In its ruling Friday , the court said France had other laws at its disposal to protect the public from acts of terrorism.

The law has been used multiple times to convict and jail people the government says were sympathetic to the Islamic State group and other extremists.

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