France: Law on the protection of cultural works establishing new agency (ARCOM) enters into force with grace period

The "Law of 25 October 2021 on the regulation and protection of access to cultural works in the digital age" enters into force with a grace period until 1 January 2022. The Law merges the "Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel" (CSA) and the "Haute autorité pour la diffusion des œuvres et la protection des droits sur internet" (HADOPI) into a single authority called "Autorité de régulation de la communication audiovisuelle et numérique" (ARCOM) (Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority). The Authority is equipped with investigative powers and is mandated to protect minors, fight against online piracy, disinformation and hatred. Two new mechanisms to combat such content envisioned by the Law are a public blacklist of sites infringing against copyright and a blocking mechanism for mirror sites.