Arcom invited the press to present its first results since its creation on January 1, 2022. Denis Rapone, president of Hadopi between 2018 and 2021, now a member of Arcom, did not hide his enthusiasm by revealing results ” more than encouraging, spectacular “.
The hunt for illegal sports streaming
While Arcom has inherited the missions and scope of action of its constituent entities, it has also obtained unprecedented legislative tools. It is thanks to this, and by collaborating with event organizers (leagues and TV broadcasters for example), that it was able to begin to attack platforms illegally broadcasting sports matches.
E3 2022 purely and simply cancelled!
Indeed, an anti-streaming law arrived at the same time as Arcom allows these famous organizers to take legal action urgently when they notice illegal broadcasts of meetings. This is mostly the case with football matches, but not only.
If the court rules in favor of the rights holders, the French Public Authority for the Regulation of Audiovisual and Digital Communication may ask Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block the illegal service. Thus, the resolution of the problem is circumvented by not deleting the service, but simply by making it impossible to access.
An average of 3 million Internet users gain illicit access to sports content every month. Source: Arcom.
Arcom removes 250 platforms
Thanks to these two new tools, Arcom is pleased to have resulted in five court decisions. They were made for players such as the LFP (Professional Football League) and broadcasters, Canal + and beIN Sports. Their requests related to illicit replays of competitions such as the Top 14, the Champions League, the African Cup of Nations, Ligue 1, and Ligue 2.
These five judgments alone will have put an end to 250 illegal sports content services. Arcom estimates that this represents 63% of audiences, almost two thirds.
However, the Authority notes that it can still do better. Indeed, for her, the key lies in the speed of action, essential in the case of broadcasts of sporting events. Denis Rapone deplores blockages sometimes occurring ” just a few hours after the referral “.
If this first assessment goes in the right direction, Arcom recalled in conclusion that it had other missions, in particular that of the fight against the piracy of cultural works. Nevertheless, it wishes to have more advanced technical and legislative tools.