Arcom, the regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communications, served formal notice on Europe 1 on June 27, 2024. For what reason and what does this decision imply?
Arcom is rampant. The audiovisual and digital communications regulator stepped up to sanction Europe 1 on June 27. Why, and what does this imply?
A show by Cyril Hanouna
In its press release, the audiovisual regulator indicates that this measure concerns “processing news related to legislative elections in the show ‘We walk on the head‘ from June 17 to 26, 2024″. A program hosted by Cyril Hanouna.
“Critical and virulent”
After citing several passages broadcast by this program, Arcom indicates that “the electoral news of ‘La France insoumise’ and the ‘New Popular Front’ […] was treated in a systematically critical and virulent manner in often pejorative and outrageous terms.
The regulator adds that “the treatment of electoral news was largely unambiguous, most of the guests, a large majority of whom come from the same political movement, having made convergent remarks, while formulating strong criticism of ‘La France insoumise’ and the ‘New Popular Front’, without another point of view being able to be sufficiently expressed“.
And it’s up to Arcom to crack down, explaining that “the company Europe 1 Télécomagnie is formally notifiedwith regard to the Europe 1 service”, with a reminder, that “to expose with constant concern of measure and honesty the reports, comments and presentations resulting from the elections”.
Formal notice: what does it involve?
On its website, Arcom explains its mission, namely “prevent before sanctioning“. Thus, the formal notice is not a sanction: in fact, this measure “has warning value. It is sent when Arcom notes a breach linked to legislative or regulatory obligations or to conventional commitments.
As our colleagues from AFP pointed out, the regulator had already reminded the radio of its obligations in terms of “pluralism” on June 20. This is what the process stipulates, since the gendarme recalls that “most formal notices are themselves preceded by a warning letter or a firm reminder letter to the regulations.”
After that ?
The formal notice is therefore not one of the various sanctions that can be imposed. But if this warning is not heeded by the offender, “the rapporteur decides whether the facts brought to his attention justify the opening of a sanction procedure“. And depending on the seriousness of the facts, Arcom has several strings to its bow:
- the suspension of the edition, broadcast, distribution of the service(s) of a category of program, part of the program or one or more advertising sequences for a month or more
- reduction of the duration of the authorization or agreement within the limit of one year
- a financial sanction possibly accompanied by a suspension of the edition or distribution of the service(s) or part of the program
- the withdrawal of authorization or the unilateral termination of the agreement.
