[{"source":"Arcom Textes juridiques","description":"The French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication (hereinafter ‘Arcom’), Having regard to Act No. 86-1067 of 30 September 1986, as amended, on freedom of communication, in particular Articles 3-1 and 48 thereof; Having regard to the Decree of 13 November 1987, as amended, approving the terms of reference and specifications of Radio France and the National Audiovisual Institute; Having regard to Decree No. 2009-79 of 23 June 2009, as amended, laying down the terms of reference for the national broadcaster France Télévisions; Having regard to Decree No. 2012-85 of 25 January 2012, as amended, laying down the terms of reference of the national broadcasting organisation responsible for France’s international audiovisual services (France Médias Monde); Having regard to the submission of a case before the court on 20 July 2026 concerning a draft decree amending the terms of reference and specifications of the national broadcasting organisations; Having deliberated on 27 July 2026, issues the following opinion: By letter dated 20 July 2026, the Government referred to Arcom a draft amendment to the decrees approving the terms of reference and conditions of France Télévisions, Radio France and the company responsible for France’s audiovisual services (France Médias Monde). These amendments are intended, in particular, to implement notices Nos. 1 to 4, 6 to 9 and 14 of the remit entrusted to Mr Bruno Lasserre, Honorary Vice-President of the Council of State, concerning the impartiality of the audiovisuel public service broadcasting, the conclusions of which were made public on 29 May 2026. In this regard, ARCOM welcomes the swift implementation of the proposals in the Lasserre report falling within its regulatory remit. The draft legislation submitted for its consideration makes it possible, in particular, to better define the scope of the requirement for impartiality and to enshrine it explicitly in the legislation setting out the obligations of public service broadcasters in the audiovisual sector. These new requirements will, however, necessitate the allocation of dedicated means, in particular to deal with the submission of cases before the court and to improve the functioning of the committees on integrity, independence and plurality of information and programmes (CHIPIP). The draft decree also summons ARCOM to make the following comments. I. – Provisions relating to the impartiality of public audiovisuel broadcasting Clarification of the requirement for impartiality and the obligations arising therefrom The draft decree clarifies the requirement for ‘impartiality in the public audiovisual industry’ set out in Article 3-1 of the Act of 30 September 1986, which is defined as ‘ an essential condition for building the necessary trust between the public, in all its diversity, and the public service, a common good that belongs to all”, implying “a duty to set an example in terms of transparency and honesty in reporting, as well as respect for the plurality of schools of thought and opinion ’ without hindering ‘the definition of an editorial line which, whilst implementing these principles, sets the services offered by the company apart’. The draft decree echoes the wording of the first notice of the Lasserre report and specifies in this regard that the requirement is to be assessed in a manner proportionate to the nature and format of the programmes and entails: the adoption, by each national broadcaster, of an editorial charter setting out the ethical rules applicable to news and the programmes that contribute to it; the establishment of proceedings for handling complaints regarding compliance with the charter; the publication of an annual report on the public’s perception of the impartiality of the services provided by the aforementioned broadcasters. As part of the monitoring of compliance with the terms of reference and specifications, Arcom, which is legally responsible for","id":3233315,"url":"https://www.arcom.fr/en/find-out-more/legal-area/legal-resources/opinion-27-july-2026-amendment-terms-reference-and-specifications-national-programme-companies-france-televisions-radio-france-and-france-medias-monde","titre":"Opinion of 27 July 2026 on the amendment of the terms of reference and specifications of the national programme companies France Télévisions, Radio France and France Médias Monde","pubDate":"Thu, 22 Oct 2026 08:04:53 +0200"},{"pubDate":"Fri, 22 May 2026 14:08:22 +0200","url":"https://www.arcom.fr/en/find-out-more/legal-area/legal-resources/arcoms-notice-may-6-2026-accompanying-publication-model-agreements-provided-article-l333-10-french-sports-code","titre":"Arcom's notice of May 6, 2026 accompanying the publication of model agreements provided for in article L333-10 of the French Sports Code.","source":"Arcom Textes juridiques","id":2900811,"description":"The French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication, Having regard to the French intellectual property code , in particular article L. 331-12 ; Having regard to the French Sports Code , in particular article L.333-10 ; After due deliberation, Adopts the following notice: The year 2025 marked a turning point in the fight against sports broadcasting piracy, with increased involvement of various types of intermediaries, under the impetus of sports rights holders, as part of the dynamic injunctions issued under article L. 333-10 of the French Sports Code . In addition to the legal actions involving Internet Service Providers (ISPs), which have been fully integrated into the scheme since 2022, and in order to strengthen the effectiveness of the blocking measures implemented, rights holders have extended their legal actions, from 2023, to search engine operators, who play a key role as central players in the diffusion of information on the internet and in directing users to sports-related contdnt. Search engine operators are now almost systematically involved in actions taken by rights holders to protect sports competitions. Between 2024 and 2025, the number of delisting measures ordered by the courts and the number of measures notified by Arcom in application of the orders issued has dubbed. In response to the misuse by some Internet users of domain name resolution services or virtual private networks (VPNs), rights holders then extended the scope of players taken to court to prevent access to services dedicated to the unlawful broadcasting of sports competitions. More than 5,000 blocking demands were notified to alternative DNS in 2025. As for virtual private network service providers, they were the subject of the first court verdicts, handed down on the basis of article L. 333-10 of the French Sports Code , in May 2025, and as such are receiving a growing number of blocking demands to update the measures ordered by the judge. Against this backdrop, strengthening cooperation between rights holders of sports-related content and the various intermediaries mentioned in the court orders would therefore appear to be desirable in order to give an even greater impact to the fight agains sports piracy. The parties are also invited to continue their exchanges with Arcom with a view to optimizing the provision of identification data and ensuring the simultaneous application of delisting and blocking measures by all technical intermediaries involved in preventing access to unlawful services. Article L. 331-12 of the French intellectual property code makes provision for the adoption of notices by the Authority for the protection and promotion of creation, with the aim of encouraging the signing of voluntary agreements likely to help remedy infringements of copyright and neighbor rights, or of the audiovisual exploitation rights mentioned in article L. 333-10 of the French Sports Code, on electronic communications networks used for the provision of online public communication services. In addition, under the terms of IV of article L. 333-10 of the French Sports Code, Arcom is responsible for adopting model agreements which the rights holders mentioned in I of the same article are invited to sign. The agreement concluded between the parties specifies, in particular, the measures that the parties undertake to take to put an end to any infringement of the exclusive audiovisual exploitation rights of the sports event or competition. The Autorité recommends that the rights holders mentioned in I of article L. 333-10 of the French Sports Code, on the one hand, and any intermediaries implementing measures ordered on the basis of II of article L. 333-10 of the same code, on the other (notably search engine operators, domain name resolution services and virtual private network providers), enter into discussions with a view to concluding agreements that would reflect their joint commitment to fight agains the unlawful diffusion of sports-related events and competitions as effectively as possible. To this end, Arcom is"}]