Interview for Le Parisien, with Claire Poirson, on the death of Jean Pormanove: behind the tragedy, the dark side of the web

Our partner Claire Poirson was interviewed by Le Parisien as part of an article on the death of Jean Pormanove.
She provides legal analysis and sheds light on the issues raised by this case.

Facts recap

On August 18, Raphaël Graven, known online as Jean Pormanove, died in Contes (Alpes-Maritimes) while participating in a livestream on the Kick platform.
He was mainly known for videos in which he endured, live, violence and humiliation, encouraged by spectators through comments or donations.

These practices had already drawn the attention of the press and the justice system: in December 2024, following an investigation by Mediapart, the Nice prosecutor’s office opened an inquiry for “incitement to hatred,” “violence against vulnerable persons,” and “dissemination of images undermining personal integrity.”

What is Kick?

Launched in 2022 by an Australian company, Kick is a live video platform often described as “the permissive alternative” to Twitch.
Its operation is similar: viewers can follow content creators for free and “subscribe” to their channels to access paid benefits.

The major difference lies in its very loose moderation. Unlike Twitch, Kick allows, in particular:

• explicit or suggestive sexual content,
• humiliation or violent scenes, broadcast without necessarily leading to sanctions.

Kick also maintains a direct link with the world of gambling: it was created by the founders of the online betting site Stake, which is banned in France and blocked by court order.
The platform also relies heavily on streaming and views: creators’ visibility and income depend directly on the number of live viewers. This model has led to a financial “game,” where some users artificially exploit the viewership and monetization system to maximize profit or notoriety.

Arcom called to intervene

Following the tragedy, the Minister for Digital Affairs, Clara Chappaz, described the events as an “absolute horror” and referred the case to both Arcom, the French audiovisual and digital regulator, and Pharos, the public platform for reporting illegal content.

In theory, the Digital Services Act (DSA) provides a legal framework to sanction such failures, notably by requiring online platforms to appoint a legal representative (Article 13) and a point of contact (Article 11) within the European Union. This representative serves as the official contact for regulatory authorities.

Until recently, however, Arcom faced a major obstacle: Kick, as an Australian entity, had no legal representation in the EU. This absence complicated the effective enforcement of European law.
Nevertheless, on Wednesday, Arcom announced that it had identified a representative based in Malta, which makes it possible to trigger the obligations provided for under the DSA.

What other remedies?

In a case of this nature, several legal mechanisms could be mobilized:

• A criminal procedure could be initiated against the alleged perpetrators, for incitement to hatred, intentional violence against a vulnerable person, and dissemination of images violating the integrity of others.
• The prosecutor could refer the matter to a judge, who could urgently order the removal of manifestly illegal content (Article 6-3 of the LCEN).
• Viewers could also file reports, since such humiliating videos could constitute a manifestly unlawful disturbance.

A question of human dignity

Beyond the technical and legal aspects, this tragedy raises a fundamental question: that of human dignity.
As the Conseil d’État stated in its ruling Commune de Morsang-sur-Orge (1995), dignity is an essential component of public order, which cannot be relativized by the victim’s consent nor by the pursuit of entertainment.
Back then, the issue was banning the practice of dwarf-tossing, a humiliating spectacle tolerated under the guise of entertainment.
Today, it is the online broadcasting of humiliations and violence that once again challenges us on the limits to be set when human dignity is instrumentalized to amuse an audience.

Link to the article: https://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/mort-de-jean-pormanove-derriere-le-drame-les-derives-des-trefonds-du-web-20-08-2025-J4ZIAXNFIFBYHGPMVGTZHPBMY4.php