The "Autorité de Régulation de la Communication Audiovisuelle et Numérique" (ARCOM) is the result of the merger between the "Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel" (CSA) and the "Haute Autorité pour la Diffusion des Œuvres et la Protection des Droits sur l'Internet" (HADOPI). This new independent public authority is the result of the law of 25 October 2021 (n°2021-1382) on the regulation and protection of access to cultural works on the Internet, which came into force on 1 January 2022.


The missions conferred on ARCOM are those formerly conferred on the CSA and the HADOPI, with a scope of action extended to online platforms, social networks and search engines:


ARCOM's mission is thus to:

 

  • Guarantee freedom of speech and audiovisual communication,
  • Allocate frequencies for the broadcasting of television and radio channels by ensuring the economic equilibrium of the sector (technical and economic regulatory power), 
  • Ensuring the financing of audiovisual creation, in particular by ensuring compliance with service publishers' obligations to invest in audiovisual and film production,
  • Ensure that programmes broadcast respect the pluralism of currents of thought and opinion, respect people and the public, respect regulations on the protection of minors, regulations on advertising, etc.


On the Internet?

 

On the Internet, ARCOM is responsible for protecting copyright and related rights and for protecting the audiovisual exploitation rights mentioned in Article L.333-10 of the Sports Code (Article L.331-12 of the Intellectual Property Code - CPI).


In this respect, ARCOM intervenes in particular in the context of:

  • Awareness and prevention actions for the public,
  • Fighting against illegal downloading with, in particular, the graduated response mechanism formerly conferred on HADOPI (articles L.331-20 and R331-6 to R331-17 of the CPI),
  • Encouraging the development of legal offers for the use of protected works on the Internet (Articles L.331-17 and L.331-18 of the CPI),
  • Regulation of technical protection measures (TPMs) designed to prevent or limit unauthorised use of a work (Article L.331-28),
  • Decision-making power in the context of the contradictory procedure for inclusion on the list of sites that "seriously and repeatedly" infringe copyright or related rights (Article L.331-25 of the CPI),
  • Fight against mirror sites, reproducing in whole or in part sites that have been blocked by a court order (Articles L.331-27 and R.331-20 of the IPC).