At January 1, 2022, Arcom (for Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority) will be officially operational. This new audiovisual policeman is born from the merger between the CSA, audiovisual regulator, and the Hadopi, anti-piracy agency.
The birth of the Arcom was a necessary evolution
On the Authority’s website, we can read that “Arcom is the guarantor of freedom of communication, and ensures that audiovisual and digital media are pluralistic and respectful of all”. The birth of this new regulator is the result of a clear observation: the audiovisual and web landscapes have literally changed during the last ten years. It was necessary to change the authorities in charge of these two subjects.
Beijing welcomes the cleaning carried out on application stores
On January 1, 2022, the#Arcom becomes the regulator of audiovisual and digital communication. Here are its main missions ⬇️
– Arcom (@Arcom_fr) December 27, 2021
According to Roch-Olivier Maistre, current president of the CSA and future president of Arcom, “In 2021, the landscape has changed considerably with new and very powerful players, in particular subscription streaming platforms. This transformation has been accompanied by important phenomena such as the development of pirating, false information, the phenomenon of online hatred… ”. So many reasons which pushed the CSA and the Hadopi to merge, in order to to marry the world as it is today.
A budget of 46.6 million euros to protect the French
Developments which have positive effects for the French public but which are also “Carrying dangers for the French cultural model” according to the Arcom. The new French gendarme gives himself for mission to promote the influence of audiovisual and French cinema, to guarantee that creators respect their rights, to support the French program industry and the economic vitality of television and radio groups, the main funders of audiovisual and digital creation.
Within the scope of Arcom, we find in particular subscription streaming platforms, social networks, and all the sites which have more than 5 million unique visits per month. In particular, the Authority will ensure that the large online platforms do their utmost to “Fight against the manipulation of information or the dissemination of hateful content”. Arcom believes that self-regulation is far from sufficient to guarantee a “Digital space respectful of the democratic game and protective of the public and in particular of the youngest”.
In short, the creation of the Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority opens a new page in regulation, in touch with the societal challenges of its time. The regulator will have a budget of 46.6 million euros. The equivalent of the cumulative CSA and Hadopi budgets.