French government to sue Kick following livestream tragedy

France’s Minister for Digital Affairs has announced legal action against streaming platform Kick after a fatal incident was broadcast on the platform earlier this month.

Clara Chappaz, who serves as France’s Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs, revealed that authorities will use provisions under French digital law to pursue legal measures against Kick. The decision emerged from high-level discussions with France’s major digital and communications regulators held at Bercy.

The government’s response follows the death of Raphaël Graven, which occurred live on Kick’s platform between August 17th and 18th. French prosecutors have separately initiated an investigation examining whether Kick operated as an unauthorised online service under criminal code provisions.

“Since the first day of my appointment, I have been fighting to restore order in the digital Wild West,” Chappaz stated. “Kick is my fight and I am taking the platform to court. This tragedy must also allow us to strengthen our means to act quickly and forcefully.”

During Tuesday’s summit, officials from multiple agencies — including media regulator Arcom, data protection authority CNIL, and representatives from Justice, Interior and Culture ministries — coordinated their approach to addressing platform safety concerns.

Chappaz indicated she has requested the Prime Minister approve an investigative review to examine current enforcement challenges and recommend legislative improvements. She highlighted ongoing work initiated in July alongside Deputy Arthur Delaporte and Stéphane Vojetta that focuses on regulating how content creators generate revenue, particularly when violent or harmful material is involved.

French authorities plan to expand citizen involvement through a new digital monitoring programme authorised under recent legislation. Meanwhile, Arcom intends to restart its hate speech monitoring initiative to improve coordination between enforcement agencies. The minister acknowledged the critical role played by community moderators and content flaggers, describing them as vital to maintaining online safety standards.

Kick has established itself as an active player in the esports streaming ecosystem since its launch. The platform signed a major content partnership with gaming organisation OTK Media and has become home to numerous esports tournament broadcasts.

The streaming service has partnered with ESL FACEIT Group for DreamHack events and has worked with tournament analytics platform Streams Charts to support emerging streamers. Kick also secured a partnership with Valhalla for F1 sim racing content, demonstrating its commitment to competitive gaming

This legal action could have significant implications for how streaming platforms moderates content, particularly during live tournament broadcasts and gaming streams where content moderation presents unique challenges. Questions also arise on how this will affect the platforms financial health.