France to restrict smart phone apps from sharing temporary police check locations

France has notified the European Commission that it intends to introduce measures to prevent driving apps from sharing the location of temporary police checks and mobile safety cameras.

Apps and portable GPS devices that show the location of fixed safety cameras are already prohibited in France. The new measures would enable the police to block zones of 20km across for a period of 24 hours to prevent sharing of the location of temporary controls via apps such as Waze and Coyote.

The government says the measures are being introduced on road safety grounds, but also to enable terrorism-related investigations to be carried out inconspicuously.