France/piracy: "400 illegal sites have been blocked since 01/01/2022" (R-O. Maistre, Arcom)

"The new tools were put in place very quickly, particularly with regard to the fight against the piracy of sports events, a type of content on which illegal practices have exploded in recent years. Since 01/01/2022, between court decisions and our intervention on 'mirror sites', around 400 illegal sites have been blocked," said Roch-Olivier Maistre, president of the French Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority, Arcom, to News Tank Football on 24/05/2022. 250 sites had been blocked during the first three months.

"The new procedure is based on a referral to the judicial judge by the holders of rights to these sporting events. The judge issues a blocking order within a very short timeframe, allowing access providers to intervene quickly. Often, once this procedure had been carried out, 'mirror sites' would appear and offer the same type of content. The law now allows rights holders to turn directly to Arcom."

"After verification by our sworn agents that the litigious sites are indeed linked to the summary judgment handed down by the judge, we then ask ISPs to block…