Opening of the press conference to present the 2022-2026 youth signage campaign

Check against delivery

Hello everyone, and welcome to those following the press conference, both from the Mirabeau Tower and from afar, for this very special occasion, the presentation of Arcom's first signage campaign since its creation, which will cover the period 2022-2026.

We are delighted to welcome the production agency with which the Authority has worked for this new campaign, to produce the clips which will be presented to you in a few moments: CAPA Corporate, represented by its Managing Director Jacques Morel, as well as the spots' author and director: Aymeric Colletta. I'd like to thank them in particular for their involvement, and we'll have the opportunity to give them the floor during this conference.

I'd also like to salute our "youngsters' expert committee", which is a valuable partner for us, and one of whose members, Béatrice Copper-Royer, will also be speaking.

Last but not least, I'd like to extend my thanks to the Arcom teams who support this project every year, and who have put a great deal of effort into renewing our campaign, under the attentive and committed supervision of Carole Bienaimé Besse, who is in charge of the subject within our college.

As you know, every year since 2005, the audiovisual regulator has organized a public information and awareness-raising campaign on the child and adolescent protection scheme for television and on-demand audiovisual media services. The aim is to encourage parents, and children too, to respect the "for younger viewers" signs, which give an indication of the appropriate age segments for viewing a program.

This year, a new institution, Arcom, with expanded competencies, will be spearheading a renewed campaign, embodied by spots shot with several age groups: you're about to discover a preview.

Participation in this campaign is, let me remind you, an obligation for the publishers concerned, with the consideration of new non-linear formats as I mentioned. Since 2014, many radio stations have also been taking part on a voluntary basis. This year and for the first time, the campaign will also be relayed on certain social networks via specially designed formats: here too, the regulator has fully adapted to the new realities of content consumption, particularly among youngsters. Content consumption is developing very rapidly, with the multiplication of screens, programs and media, raising new challenges that we must meet collectively.

The tools for protecting audiences in the audiovisuel sphere are becoming increasingly well known, with parental control schemes for example, but they must also be accompanied by a collective effort to raise awareness among all audiences of the importance of checking the label on a program before viewing it. All specialists agree in warning about the lasting shock that highly shocking images, scenes or words can produce on youngsters' still-forming brains. We also know that youngsters learn by reproducing models, which can be fictitious.

That's why the role of the regulator is also to respond to the very strong social demand to protect audiences from age-inappropriate programs or content. Our mission in this area goes back a long way, and is not confined to youth signage - I'm thinking, for example, of the "children and screens" campaign, or our commitment to working with the authorities to promote digital parenting. More recently, we have been given new powers in this area, to protect the image rights of children known as "YouTubers", for example, or to disable access to pornographic sites for persons under 18.

The "laboratory for the protection of children online" announced last week by the President of the Republic also highlights the new horizon of protection actions, beyond the sole audiovisual sphere.

On this subject as on others, our collective vigilance and commitment must be constant, to enable all audiences to navigate in confidence and security in the audiovisual and digital space.

This is how proud and happy Arcom is to present its first signage campaign, which will be shown on screens as of this Sunday! As you'll see, we've chosen a creative approach that gives a voice to children in their own words and feelings. But I'll say no more and hand over to Carole Bienaimé Besse, who will present the campaign in greater detail.