ARCOM vs. AI: 95,000 Illegal Contents Blocked in 2025

ARCOM and the Fight Against Illegal Content in 2025

ARCOM has published its annual report, revealing that in 2025, nearly 95,500 illegal contents were reviewed by a qualified individual. This year was marked by an increase in artificial intelligence-generated child pornography and the emergence of masculinist-inspired terrorism. Every week, volunteer agents from ARCOM sit in front of isolated computers to safely examine content that the police have requested to be removed from the web. In 2025, 95,481 of these requests were reviewed and validated one by one. The content includes AI-generated child pornography, masculinist content reclassified as terrorism, and a site dedicated to videos of people dying that was ultimately blocked by the French judiciary.

The Role of the Qualified Individual

The title of "qualified individual" is little known, but the mission it encompasses is crucial. Laurence Pécaut-Rivolier, a magistrate at the Court of Cassation and a member of the ARCOM board, acts as an independent safeguard. She monitors, with the help of about ten volunteer agents, the decisions of the Anti-Cybercrime Office (OFAC), the police unit specialized in cybercrime, which has the rare power to order the removal of illegal online content without waiting for a judge's authorization. This exceptional power is precisely why an external authority is there to ensure it is not abused. In 2025, the qualified individual reviewed 95,166 removal requests, 291 site blocks, and 24 delistings, without ever having to challenge OFAC on any irregularity.

AI and Child Pornography

Child pornography alone accounts for 96% of the content that OFAC requests to be removed. However, the year 2025 introduced a new and concerning phenomenon: artificial intelligence. It is now being used to create sexual images featuring non-existent minors. A distinction that does not change anything legally, as the report clearly states. "Any form of representation of a minor that is pornographic in nature, including when generated using artificial intelligence, is prohibited." Whether virtual or real, the content remains a crime, adding to the already existing real content.

The report also issues a direct warning to parents. Child predators do not limit themselves to seeking explicit content. Completely ordinary photos of children, such as a day at the beach, a birthday, or a playtime moment, published on social media are regularly retrieved and shared on specialized forums, where they take on a completely different meaning. "Many photos of children published online, no matter how innocuous they may seem, are picked up by child predators and disseminated on specialized forums," warns Ms. Pécaut-Rivolier. A simple reminder, but one that should make parents think twice before every publication.

New Terrorist Threats

In terms of terrorism, content produced by Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State remains the most frequent, but a new trend is emerging. This involves content from the supremacist and far-right movements, which are on the rise. Notably, 2025 marked a first in France, with masculinist content—promoting an ideology hostile to women and calling for violence—being officially classified as terrorist. This decision is directly linked to the opening, in July 2025, of a judicial investigation into a planned "incel"-inspired attack in Saint-Étienne, a movement comprising men who consider themselves victims of women and sometimes advocate for violence.

Judicial Blocking of Extreme Sites

Since February 2025, OFAC has received a new competency, allowing it to request the removal of images of torture and acts of barbarism. This unprecedented legal ground has been little utilized, with only 17 requests in a few months, but it has already produced a concrete result. It is precisely through this mechanism that the site watchpeopledie.tv was identified and reported. This abhorrent American platform collects videos of people dying (from accidents, executions, or suicides), sometimes accompanied by emojis or mocking comments about the victims. Neither the site nor its technical host, Cloudflare, responded to OFAC's removal requests. Therefore, ARCOM took an additional step by directly involving the judiciary. In December 2025, the Paris judicial court ruled that the main French internet service providers (Orange, Free, SFR, Bouygues) must block access to the site for all their subscribers. This is an indefinite measure, maintained "as long as the dissemination of illegal content by the site watchpeopledie.tv continues," according to the terms of the judgment.

Since June 2025, OFAC can also target online drug sale advertisements, a recent competency that explains the still modest number of 160 removal requests. It should be noted that the office currently intervenes only when a report brings a case to its attention. However, what agents discover on these pages is shocking: photos of products, promotions for bulk orders, and home delivery options. "Photos of narcotic products, a discount offer if you place a bulk order, a proposal for home delivery," specifies Ms. Pécaut-Rivolier. Essentially, online commerce, but for drugs.

An Endless Fight

At its core, this report conveys a simple message: the illicit web evolves faster than the means to combat it. ARCOM knows this and acknowledges it itself, and as long as OFAC consists of only a handful of agents dedicated to detection, controlling 95,000 contents will remain a very symbolic victory against an ocean whose true depth is still unknown today.