France to sue streaming platform for ‘negligence’ after on-air death

A man typing on a backlit computer keyboard. (Bloomberg Creative Photos/Bloomberg Creative)

France will sue the Australian streaming platform Kick for “negligence” after a user died during a livestream, a government minister said on Tuesday.

The platform has come under scrutiny in France after a 46-year-old Frenchman died in August during a 12-day live streaming marathon on his channel, which specialised in him enduring abuse or humiliation dished out by other participants.

“Kick did not do everything possible to stop the broadcast of dangerous content,” French Digital Affairs Minister Clara Chappaz said, accusing the platform of breaking a 2004 law regulating online content.

A post-mortem found that the man -- real name Raphael Graven, but known online as “Jean Pormanove” or “JP” -- was not killed by trauma or by someone else.

In a separate announcement on Tuesday, French prosecutors said they had opened an investigation into the platform.

The probe opened on Monday will examine whether Kick “knowingly” broadcast “videos of deliberate attacks on personal integrity,” Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement.

Investigators will also probe whether the streaming platform is in compliance with the European Union’s Digital Services Act on content moderation.

Offenders risk up to 10 years in prison and a fine of one million euros (C$1.61 million).