Death of streamer Raphaël Graven (known as "Jean Pormanove"): information on Arcom's role in regulating digital platforms

In the audiovisuel world, Arcom is mandated by law to give an opinion (a posteriori) on the conformity of programs shown on radio or television with the editorial commitments of the channels, in terms of ethics, plurality or harm to individuals, for example. Every year, it receives tens of thousands of reports, as well as a considerable number of media alerts and social network postings. It is on the basis of these reports that Arcom controls the sequences, while respecting the principle of freedom of communication. It intervenes with channels in around 10% of cases.

In the digital world, the situation is very different: firstly, there are not a few dozen or hundreds of channels as there are in TV or radio, but an infinite number of contents, images and programs shown on thousands or even millions of platforms and social networks, which are not providers of radio.

In this world, the legislative framework does not give Arcom the mission or competence to assess the conformity or lawfulness of content, or to report unlawful content to a platform for removal.

On the other hand, under the Digital Services Regulation (DSR), Arcom designates "trusted flaggers", generally associations (there are eight of them to date), whom it is advisable to contact as a matter of priority, since platforms are obliged to treat their flaggers as a matter of priority. They are the first partners in digital regulation, available to the general public.

The reporting tools of social networks, online platforms and the Pharosplatform are also designed to collect alerts from users, and the Pharos platform can demand the removal of content.

In urgent cases, Arcom, like any other public authority, may refer the matter to the state prosecutor (art. 40 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure) or to the courts (art. 6-3 of the French Act of June 21, 2004 on confidence in the digital economy).

In the case of the "jeanpormanove" channel, the matter had already been referred to the courts in December 2024.

Audiovisuel regulations are more restrictive, particularly for TV channels and radio stations that benefit from free-to-air public radio frequencies. In exchange for these frequencies, which enable them to be seen or heard by many French people, they must comply with precise obligations.

Arcom has often taken the position that these differences in regulation should be "limited". However, the two universes will never be similar, and the manager applicable to the audiovisuel sector guarantees the public that the content they access on television or radio is produced and monitored with particular care. This makes the audiovisual media an invaluable "bulwark" against the abuses the public may encounter on the Internet.

In the audiovisual field, Arcom must assess whether content (a program sequence, a documentary or an on-set debate) complies with the commitments made by the TV channel or radio station, particularly in terms of the accuracy of information, plurality of viewpoints, the fight against discrimination or respect for human dignity.

The regulation of digital players is governed by a European framework, which applies in a similar way to all EU member states, and in this field, which differs from audiovisual legislation, the law entrusts it with the task of ensuring that the platforms under its jurisdiction abide by the obligations resulting from the Regulation on Digital Services (RSN). These obligations are designed to limit or eliminate the risks that platforms can generate, while guaranteeing freedom of expression. The law does not demand that Arcom assess the legality of content published on platforms, or request its removal.

For example, platforms are required to :

• take measures to protect persons under 18 from targeted advertising or harmful content;
• devote sufficient human and technical means to the moderation and removal of illegal content;
• guarantee the transparency of the algorithms used, and allow their data to be opened up to researchers, who can then better study their effects (addictive, for example) and generate demands for protective measures.

In particular, Arcom is responsible for :

• contribute, as of its findings in France, to the investigations carried out by the European Commission into very large platforms (with over 45 million users in Europe, i.e. 10% of the population), such as YouTube, TikTok, Meta, etc., most of which are based in Ireland. Arcom is actively doing so, but is unable to communicate on ongoing investigations at European Commission level;

• to designate "trusted flaggers", whose reports based on observations made in France must be treated as a priority by all platforms, wherever they are based. Eight "trusted alerts" have been designated this year;

• initiate cross-border cooperation proceedings and joint investigations (with exchanges of information and evidence), as is the case with Kick concerning observations made in France on a platform a priori represented in Malta. This work is ongoing;

• contribute at European level to the assessment of compliance by very large platforms with their obligations.

Arcom can :

• order the site concerned to put an end to the breaches, for example by making provision for appropriate moderation resources, or respond rapidly to reports made by "trusted flaggers", whose submissions must be dealt with as a matter of priority, all within a specified timeframe, where appropriate under penalty; or give formal notice to do so;

• if the site fails to comply with the injunction or formal notice, Arcom may initiate legal sanctions proceedings by summoning an independent rapporteur under the conditions laid down in the law of September 30, 1986 on freedom of communication (maximum penalty 6% of worldwide sales);

• in the event that a breach of the RSN's obligations causes serious harm and constitutes an infringement of criminal law involving a threat to the life or safety of persons, Arcom may demand that a court order a temporary restriction of access to the service concerned.

However, the regulations do not allow Arcom to:

• to assess the legality of content present on a platform, as this falls within the competence of the judge alone;

• demand that a hosting provider, even one established in France, revoke unlawful content.

Preventing access to a website is a serious infringement of freedom of communication. Such a decision must fall within a precise and demanding legal manager to protect freedom of expression.

Arcom can only take such a measure in very specific cases:

• when a pornographic platform refuses, in infringement of the penal code, to prevent its access to persons under 18. The proceedings require that the platform has first received Arcom's observations, then that it has been put on formal notice; and that at the end of a period set by the texts (fifteen days), it has still not complied with this obligation. In this case, Arcom can demand blocking from the ISP. In addition, if the platform is located in another European Union country, it must be named on a list drawn up by interministerial decree;

• when, after a verdict blocking a piracy site, another digital service uses the same content (known as a "mirror site") and engages in the same piracy practices. Arcom's teams or sworn agents must then establish that the new service is clearly circumventing the judge's verdict, and demand that it be blocked.

In the case of Kick, Arcom does not have the power to directly demand that the platform be blocked. Only the judicial authority can order such blocking.

Although specific legislation allows other authorities to demand the blocking of a site (e.g. the Autorité Nationale des Jeux for certain online gambling activities, or Pharos for child pornography or terrorist content), this does not apply to the case in point.

Arcom reacted: as soon as it received Mediapart's questions, in December 2024, Arcom searched for the establishment or legal representative of Kick (anAustralian platform) in Europe, without being able to identify it. Under the European legislative framework (the RSN), this information makes it possible to know who is authorized to intervene with the platform.

In early January 2025, the German regulator (BNetzA) informed all its European counterparts that it had officially requested Kick to appoint a legal representative and an official point of contact for all European authorities competent to apply the RSN.

Following an alert from the Ligue des droits de l'Homme (LDH) in early February, Arcom followed up with its German counterpart (BNetzA), which replied in March 2025 that it had still not received a response from the platform, despite a reminder in the meantime.

On August 20, at its request, Arcom was informed by the European Commission of the appointment of a representative in Malta, and immediately contacted its Maltese counterpart.

Press release - Kick.Com regulation: Arcom talks to the Maltese platform and regulator

The departments responsible for investigating the letter wished to be sure of the applicable managerial framework before forwarding the letter and its response to their superiors and to the College. Their priority was therefore to identify the competent authority. To this end, they contacted the German regulator again, the primary concern being not so much to reply to the letter as to identify possible means of action.

The supply of online services to which the French have access today (e.g. social networks, video-on-demand platforms, e-commerce sites, etc.) is extremely wide and varied, and is renewed daily with the emergence of new players making new platforms available to users. Neither Arcom nor any of its European counterparts can draw up an exhaustive map.

The European regulation on digital services will not be fully effective until 2024. European regulators, including Arcom, who are responsible for digital regulation in this context, have an increasingly precise but still incomplete view of the services accessible from their territory, and of the authorities territorially competent to regulate them, depending on their headquarters.

The international platforms themselves, especially the smaller ones, are not always aware of the rules with which they must comply.

Until now,Kick has been little known to the French public. Moreover, its audience is not always measurable by Médiamétrie, with user volumes on the platform regularly falling below the thresholds of audience measurement "radars". Like Kick, there are undoubtedly many other players not yet listed, offering their services in France but established in other countries and outside the European Union.

As soon as Arcom was informed of the appointment of a representative in Malta, it contacted its Maltese counterpart, the Malta Communications Authority (MCA). This is the first time that Arcom has had to take such a step within the framework of the RSN.

In a press release, the MCA indicated that it had not been notified of the designation, although this is made provision for under the RSN. The Kick platform has no measured audience in Malta, and the regulation had no knowledge of its activity.

The MCA immediately contacted Kick to demand an explanation, and Arcom is in daily contact with its Maltese counterpart to help regularize the situation. The MCA has assured Arcom of its determination to enforce the RSN against Kick.

Press release - Regulation of Kick.Com: Arcom exchanges with the platform and the Maltese regulator

Arcom has also contacted the Australian regulator (eSafety Commissionner), with whom it maintains regular working relations, notably within the framework of the Global Online Safety Regulators Network (GOSRN).

Given the seriousness of the situation, Arcom also contacted the platform directly on August 20. Noting that on August 22 the platform had put the content of the "jeanpormanove" channel back online (access to which had been suspended on August 20), Arcom condemned this initiative, and the content was once again blocked in the hours that followed.

Press release - Arcom condemns Kick.com's decision to lift the blocking of the "jeanpormanove" channel and reminds the platform of its responsibilities.

In addition to implementing the Digital Services Regulation, Arcom, which took over the missions of the French Superior Audiovisual Council and Hadopi in 2022, is responsible for a wide range of other tasks, including (but not limited to):

• the technical, economic and social regulation of national and local audiovisuel in France and overseas France;
• the financing and exhibition of French audiovisual and cinematographic creation (a mission extended in 2022 to include streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video), as well as the diffusion of French song;
• the fight agains cultural and (since 2022) sporting piracy;
• accessibility for people with disabilities to audiovisual media, Ebooks and, since 2023, all public websites;
• the environmental impact of audiovisual and certain digital practices;
• fighting exposure of persons under 18 to pornography;
• promoting healthy eating through audiovisual and digital media;
• control of measures to remove terrorist, child pornography, torture or barbaric content, or content linked to drug trafficking;
• applying European legal sanctions against Russian media;
• contributing to the fight against information manipulation, etc.

These statutory missions are steadily expanding, in line with developments in digital usage.

For the implementation of the regulation on digital services, Arcom has a staff of around twenty within the Online Platforms Directorate, which is responsible, among other things, for verifying the age of pornographic sites, the protection of persons under 18 online, and the withdrawal of Russian media content under European sanctions, contributing to Commission investigations into major platforms (e.g., suspicions of manipulation of X's algorithm to the benefit of certain opinions), examining applications for "trusted flaggers" status, and ensuring cooperation with Viginum against external interference, particularly in the run-up to elections.

By way of illustration, the German regulator has 70 jobs to carry out the same tasks.