With the passage of a new law, France has taken a daring legal stand, going after internet CEOs whose platforms facilitate illicit activity. Adopted in January 2023, the groundbreaking law places France at the forefront of initiatives aimed at reducing cybercrime. The law permits the prosecution of prominent figures in the digital industry, such as Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, for their involvement in crimes carried out on their platforms. Durov is the subject of an official inquiry in France and may be charged with offenses that result in a €500,000 fine and a 10-year jail term. He disputes Telegram’s involvement in enabling illicit transactions, claiming the app abides by EU laws.
France is the first nation to directly target IT CEOs with the so-called LOPMI (Loi d’Orientation et de Programmation du Ministère de l’Intérieur) 2023–22 law. The law is unprecedented in its extent and has not yet been tested in court. Legal experts point out that neither the US nor any other Western country has any legislation akin to this.
Although the US has prosecuted people like Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road bazaar, those prosecutions need evidence of demonstrable participation in illegal activities. Nonetheless, even in cases where platform operators were not directly engaged, French law aims to hold them responsible for illicit activities made possible by their websites.
The statute has been hailed by Paris prosecutors, under the direction of Laure Beccuau, as a potent weapon in their battle against organized cybercrime, which includes credit card trafficking, child abuse, and denial-of-service operations. The closure of other illicit sites like Coco and the recent high-profile arrest of Durov demonstrate France’s proactive approach to fighting cybercrime. The J3 cybercrime section in charge of Durov’s case has worked on related cases in the past, such as the well-known investigation into Dominique Pelicot, who planned horrific acts using the anonymous chat platform Coco.
Legal and intellectual experts warn that the law’s untested status might result in challenges in court, even if it grants French authorities enormous power. Still, the fight against cybercrime is becoming more and more worldwide as a result of France’s recent cybercrime law.