France: Published ARCOM inquiry report introducing evaluation of technical measures for copyright protection including major content sharing service providers

On 25 October 2024, the Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority (ARCOM) published an inquiry report evaluating technical measures for identifying protected works and objects implemented by online content sharing service providers, including YouTube, Facebook, and Dailymotion, for identifying and protecting copyrighted materials. The report outlined that while current tools detect standard copyrighted content, they face challenges with modified or re-uploaded materials, impacting the platforms' effectiveness in protecting rights holders. It also reviewed these platforms’ alignment with foreign regulations, notably the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), instead of French copyright laws. The report recommends that platforms implement procedures to simplify the process for rights holders to report infringing content and standardise response times for handling copyright infringement notifications across cultural sectors. It advises platforms to ensure their terms of service specify compliance with French copyright laws rather than foreign frameworks, such as the DMCA. The report also suggests that platforms grant ARCOM access to content recognition tools for evaluation purposes and improve these tools to enhance detection of copyrighted fixed images, particularly modified or re-uploaded content.