France’s telecommunications regulator Arcom ** has established a practice of notifying consumers that it has detected they have downloaded and shared illegally obtained content.
Consumers that access infringing instances of content from illegal sources tend to fall into one of three categories: Those who know they did it but are willing to stop, those who know they did it, don’t care and don’t stop, and those who did not know that they accessed illegal sources.
The regulator also provides a means to respond to the warning.
“I recently received a warning from Arcom. Why? What should I do?”
Every month many of you call us. The Arcom answers you.
If Arcom has sent you a warning message, it is because your connection has been used to illegally download and share copyrighted works (songs, movies, television series). As the subscription holder, you are indeed responsible for this connection.
To comply with the law and not risk legal proceedings, you must secure your connection. To do this, Arcom gives you tools and advice to follow.
To respond to a warning, Arcom provides a link and a process
If you have received a 1st or 2nd warning, click on the button below entitled: Access the form “I have received a warning”
If you have received a letter notifying you that the facts are subject to prosecution – 3rd phase of the procedure – click on the button below entitled: Access the form “I have received a notification letter”.
Understand all about: Arcom’s warnings following a copyright infringement
** Arcom is France’s Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (Autorité de régulation de la communication audiovisuelle et numérique)
Further reading
Respond to receiving a warning. Online landing page. Accessed February 18, 2025. Arcom
Form for persons who have received a warning. Online response form. Accessed February 18, 2025. Arcom
Form for persons who have received a notification letter. Online response form. Accessed February 18, 2025. Arcom
Why it matters
Arcom’s approach presents users with the fact that they were detected. Research says that outreach is somewhat successful in changing consumer behavior. One way is to provide easy paths to legal sources. Another is to say that they were caught and threaten legal action, which is what Arcom’s approach does.
Arcom’s approach does not segment these detected users into “those who know and respond,” “those who know and don’t care” and “those who didn’t know.” The third category probably has the highest likelihood of responding.
