Speech by Roch-Olivier Maistre on the occasion of Arcom's 2023 Greetings

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"Monsieur le ministre chargé de la Transition numérique et des Télécommunications, dear Jean-Noël Barrot,

Mr. Emmanuel Marcovitch, Director of the Cabinet representing the Minister of Culture, who is detained by a trip to the regions,

Ladies and Gentlemen Members of Parliament,

Ladies and Gentlemen Presidents,

dear friends,

Three years will havepassedbefore we can finally meet again in this magnificent Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac Museum, which I would like to thank for its warm welcome, for this traditional New Year's ceremony.

Three years that will go down in history asmarked by the impact ofa pandemic that has turned our lives upside down, and by the tragic return of war to our continent.

Three years which have seen the world continue to change, with tremendous advances and worrying setbacks, and which the media have relayed to ensure that we are fully informed, thanks to the commitment, courage and, at times, the peril of their lives, of journalists and their teams. I would like to join you in paying tribute to them.

Yes, we are delighted to welcome you this evening, along with the entire Arcom College, you who are our day-to-day contacts and who embody the richness of our missions: members of the government, members of parliament, former presidents and members of our Authority, presidents and members of the courts and independent administrative authorities, institutional partners and associations, journalists and, of course, all of you, players in the audiovisual media and the digital sphere.

On behalf of the College, the General Management and all Arcom staff, I would like to extend ourwarmestwishes forhappiness and success in 2023, for you and your loved ones.

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It's an understatement to say that thepastthree years have beenmarkedby a profound transformation of regulation.

No less than nine legislative texts have broadened the scope and prerogatives of the regulator, a development that wasconfirmed by the creation ofArcom onJanuary 1, 2022.

From the outset,with a nine-member board appointed by five different authorities, and a new organization, the Autorité has been ready to meet the challenges posed by the transformation of the sector. And right from the outset, there was no shortage of deadlines to meet. Here are just a few examples.

• First, the presidential and legislative elections. Thanks to a close dialogue with the audiovisual media, but also, for the first time, with social networking platforms to fight misinformation, the campaigns for these two major elections in our democratic life ran smoothly, respecting the plurality of currents of thought and opinion.
• Next, the financing of creative work and the fight agains piracy. In 2022, the scheme for audiovisual and cinematic production obligations was extended to the major international subscription video platforms, further strengthening our cultural model. We have also been quick to deploy our new legal arsenal in the fight against cultural and sports piracy. Thanks to the joint efforts of rights holders, the justice system, ISPs and the regulator, no fewer than 1,300 unlawful streaming sites were blocked in 2022. In this area, it's fair to say that there's a before and an after. While this fight remains ahead of us, the recent agreement reached between rights holders and ISPs under the aegis of Arcom will only amplify our progress.
• Last but not least, the protection of our audiences, especially youngsters. The year 2022 will have been punctuated by several concrete advances, such as our new signage campaign designed to protect youngsters, the signing of the so-called "Studer" charter protecting the use of images of persons under 18 on online platforms, and the initiation of judicial proceedings against pornographic sites that fail to comply with the obligations laid down by law. Nor should I forget our role in supervising the removal and blocking of child pornography and apology for terrorism content by Pharos.

In addition tothese examples, I would like to mention a few of our challenges for the coming year. In a sector that has become as much digital as audiovisual, and which is undergoing spectacular transformations, Arcom intends to pursue a threefold ambition.

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1. Our first ambition is to contribute to a plurality and trust in the audiovisual and digital environment.

Whereverthey live, the French must have access to a diversified, high-quality audiovisual supply, to programs that inform and entertain them, cultivate them, interest them and bring them together. They also have the right to browse content on the Internet with greater security.

All of you gathered here, public and private players alike, bear witness to the richness and vitality of our audiovisual landscape.Through the events and programs you create for them, you are at the heart of our compatriots' daily lives, providingaccess to information, entertainment and culture. Through your unifying role, you play a key role in their collective emotions, and thus contribute to the cohesionof our society.

Over 40 millionFrench peoplelisten to the radio and watch television every day! More than 15 million of them were in front of their screens for the debate on the second round of the presidential election, and a record 24 million for the World Cup final !Nearly 9 million access daily video-on-demand services by contract.Online platforms - such as social networks, search engines andvideo-sharing sites- now play an essential role in their exchanges, and in theiraccess to information and culture.

This unique place of audiovisual and digital media in our daily lives is not without a downside. As every film fan knows, " with great power comes great responsibility ". Trust comes at a price: high standards.

• A requirement that refers first and foremost to the rigor and honesty of information. Access to reliable, plurality-based and independent information is essential at a time when health, climate, economic and geopolitical crises are multiplying; when media controlled by foreign powers are attempting to disrupt our democracy and social cohesion; and when too many French people report feeling the symptoms of "information fatigue", media fatigue and even mistrust. In an increasingly complex world, where the false is so easily mixed with the true in the mass and virality of available information, deciphering, enlightening and providing the keys are more than ever at the heart of the fine mission of journalists and newsrooms. Honest information is the foundation on which public trust is built.
• Maintaining high standards also means ensuring plurality of viewpoints and the protection of rights and freedoms. Our primary mission, as I often remind you, is to guarantee freedom of communication, editorial freedom and freedom of expression, all of which are enshrined in our law. As such, it is only natural that polemics, disputes and controversy should find their place in the audiovisual media, whose role is also to reflect the questions and fractures of our society. However, enlightening the debate, particularly on the most sensitive subjects, requires that a plurality of viewpoints be expressed at all times, and that the truth of the facts be distinguished from the freedom of commentary.

Similarly ,need we remind you that the law sets limits on freedom of communication ? That not everything can be said on the airwaves or shown on screens? No,incitement to hatred or any form of discrimination, to name but two, has no place in the audiovisual media.

Nor online, where the regulation of the major digital players, which is being rolled out thanks to the new European regulation on digital services, should enable us to better combat the poison of unlawful content, infomercials and hate speech.

I would like to reiterate that, in its place, the regulator is fulfilling and will continue to fulfill its mission, whenever necessary, to ensure compliance with these rules. It does so and will do so in complete independence, within the scope of the adversary proceedings that are part of the guarantees provided by law. In the field of public freedoms, the time of law will never be the time of social networks.

• Last but not least, we are committed to making our audiovisual media more accessible, and to better representing French society in all its diversity: diversity of territories, genders, ages, origins or disabilities. In these areas, year after year, we measure the progress that has been made and the distance that remains to be covered to respond to one reality: only media that reflect our society can win the support of audiences and nurture trust.

With challenges just as strong, the ecological transition, which is of such concern to our fellow citizens, especially youngsters, can only mobilize the media and digital world. Arcom is now fully engaged in this movement to support the major transformations that lie ahead.

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2.Arcom's second ambition is to promote the dynamism of our national players.

Developments with regard to audience rates and usage, the multiplication of screens and reception modes, and the number of operators present in the landscape are all illustrations of the changes at work, which are not limited to ourborders. Private and public players are rightly striving to adapt to these new economic and competitive realities, through transformations and recompositions that the regulator is closely monitoring.

Faced with these challenges, which are part of our economic and cultural sovereignty, our mission is not to conserve. It's to anticipate and support these developments.

• In this respect, there will be no shortage of high-profile events in the months ahead. This will be the case for the DTT platform, which this year will enter a phase of competition for numerous frequencies that will continue until 2025. In this respect, it's interesting to note that television remains a mass medium, which clearly still has a strong appeal. This will also be the case for radio, with the accelerating roll-out of DAB+, a new horizon for this medium to which the French are very attached. Digital radio has now reached a decisive stage: this year, it will reach over 50% of the population in mainland France.
• Defending the sector also means supporting French and European creation and production. Firstly, by promoting the dynamism of national players, who are the main financiers. Secondly, by pursuing agreements with international video-on-demand services. Finally, by strictly enforcing obligations and stepping up the fight agains piracy, in order to protect rights and their value.
• Last but not least, standing shoulder to shoulder with the industry means defending the specific characteristics and strength ofpublic audiovisuel, which alone accounts for nearly 30% of radio and television audiences. I would like to reiterate the fundamental role played by public service broadcasting in balancing our broadcasting landscape, offering reliable, high-quality information, supporting creativity and reaching out to all audiences.In the ongoing debate on its future and development,Arcom will bevery careful to ensure that its various components are able to carry out their missions within a managerial and financial framework capable of guaranteeing their independence and enabling their transformation.

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3. Finally, our third ambition is to deploy a form of regulation that combines local proximity and international activity.

• At the local level,our aim is to respond to the demand for proximity expressed by audiences and operators, particularly in terms of media literacy, information and digital citizenship, and support for local media.

Faced with a network ofraredensity, in radio as intelevision, Arcom is fortunate to have sixteen territorial antennas in mainland and overseas France, whose action we intend to reinforce.

• At the European level, we are involved in theERGA mediaregulators group.We are actively contributing to the design of major European texts, in particular the regulation on digital services, whose implementation will be a priority for us in 2023. This will involve close, trusting cooperation between the various administrations and independent authorities concerned in France, and a strengthening dialogue with the Commission and our European counterparts.

I'm also thinking of the draft regulation onmediafreedom, theEMFA, the code of good practice on disinformation, and the proposed regulation on the transparency and targeting of political advertising. All these initiatives highlight the strong European dimension of our missions, and it is a great opportunity for the Autorité to contribute to building new common rules on the scale of a continent that is a pioneer in these fields.

• Finally,on an international level, Arcom will be strengthening its bilateral exchanges and its involvement in REFRAM, the French-speaking network of media regulators, of which we will hold the presidency for two years.

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To be ever more useful to audiences, to listen more than ever to operators in the sector, to be more present from local to international level: to support these three priorities,Arcomhas drawn up a strategic project, which we are making public this evening. It will enable us to better shape the regulation of tomorrow, and to better report to Parliament on our objectives and achievements, at a time when our missions are expanding rapidly.

In conclusion, I'd like to extend my warmest thanks to the members of the Board and all theteams at theAutorité, with special thanks and friendship to Carole BienaiméBesse and Jean-François Mary, whose terms of office come to an end this week. We'll have the opportunity to pay tribute to them, but I'd like to take this opportunity to take my hat off to them. We will shortly be welcoming two new members, whose appointment process is currently underway.

I'd like to thank you for your attention, and now propose that we share a glass offriendship."