CONVICTION OF THE PUBLISHER OF AN ONLINE COMMUNICATION SERVICE FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ITS IDENTIFICATION OBLIGATION

TGI de Paris, 17 ch. Corr. 14 March 2017, LICRA, UEJF, AIPJ, SOS Racisme and MRAP v. Mr X

 In a ruling dated 14 March 2017, the Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance found the publisher of a website in breach of its obligation to make identifying information available to the public.

In this case, the website www.egaliteetreconciliation.fr wrongly named two individuals who were in prison at the time of the events as its publication director and deputy publication director. Following this report, an investigation carried out on 12 May 2016 showed that all the technical identification data present on the site (IP address, email accounts, physical addresses, telephone numbers, etc.) pointed to the president of the association.

Article 6 III-1 c) of Law no. 2004-575 of 21 June 2004 on confidence in the digital economy requires the name of the publication's director or co-director to be made available to the public.

The Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance ruled that the association's president was the actual publisher of the communication service offered by the Egalité & Réconciliation website, as well as its publication director, and that he had therefore failed in his obligation to identify himself.

Having already been convicted on six previous occasions for press offences, and having failed to appear to answer for these offences, the Court sentenced him to a three-month suspended prison sentence and a €5,000 fine.