France: Decree No. 2025-146 on removal of child pornography content and images of torture or acts of barbarity, including content moderation regulation entered into force

On 20 February 2025, Decree No. 2025-146 on the removal of content of a child pornography nature and images of torture or acts of barbarity entered into force, following its publication on 19 February 2025 in the Official Journal. The decree implements Articles 4, 5 and 49 of Law No. 2024-449 of 21 May 2024 on securing and regulating the digital space, and Article 6-2-2 of Law No. 2004-575 of 21 June 2004 on confidence in the digital economy, as amended. It specifies the administrative and judicial procedures for the removal of child pornography content and establishes, on an experimental basis, the extension of administrative authority to the removal of images of torture or acts of barbarity under Article 222-1 of the Penal Code, designating the Office for Combating Cybercrime (OFAC) as the competent authority. It sets out the requirements for the designation and authorisation of agents, the modalities for notification and exchange of information between OFAC, the qualified person appointed within the Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (ARCOM), and ARCOM itself, as well as the technical safeguards for secure communication. It incorporates these procedures into the Code of Administrative Justice, stipulating that relevant legal challenges must be adjudicated within seventy-two hours, and extends applicability to New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and the Wallis and Futuna Islands.