Whatever you think of the police actions themselves, the legal threats are problematic. Numerama observes that police don't have any protections against being photographed in public, so it's not clear that Nice can make lawsuits stick (it has reportedly filed a few so far). Estrosi doesn't appear to grasp the concept of police accountability in the modern era, when cameras and fast internet connections are everywhere.

Not to mention that trying to prevent photos of police from surfacing online is akin to plugging a leaky dam with your finger... it's going to be utterly ineffective. It's simply too easy for anyone with a smartphone to post photos or video after an incident, and there's nothing stopping lawsuit-averse locals from sending images to someone outside the country to make sure the truth gets out. The attempt to protect police officers (and really, to stifle criticism) may only create more of an uproar.