Roch-Olivier Maistre, president of the Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority (Arcom), born from the merger of the CSA and Hadopi, was the guest of 8:30 am franceinfo, Monday January 3, 2022. He answered questions by Marc Fauvelle and Jean-Jérôme Bertolus.
“You need several points of view”
The dissemination of conspiracy theories and false information on social networks, reinforced by the context of Covid-19, is “an absolutely major social issue”, recognizes Roch-Olivier Maistre. The Arcom “has not established a blacklist of accounts”, explains its president but he promises a “new type of regulation”. The Authority has, moreover,“issued formal notices on traditional media”, affirms Roch-Olivier Maistre, recalling that “on controversial subjects, you need several points of view. “
Speaking time, a “fair” calculation
Asked about the new rule for calculating speaking times in force for the presidential campaign, the president of Arcom explains that it is based on a principle of fairness: “The media must treat the political offer fairly.” “This relates to the time of expression and the air time of each candidate according to the political weight, the polls, the results of the previous elections”, explains Roch-Olivier Maistre. The Arcom “will rule every two weeks” on media counts. This numbers “public” are available on the CSA website.
Eric Zemmour, “an actor in political life”
Was Arcom right to count down Eric Zemmour’s speaking time before he was officially declared a candidate? “The CSA perfectly fulfilled its mission at the time. The law is very clear: the media are required to communicate the speaking times of political figures”. According to Roch-Olivier Maistre, at the beginning of September, “All the clues showed that we were no longer in the presence of a simple journalist but of an actor in political life”. He quotes “a campaign fundraising association, posters all over France and a search for sponsorship”.
Emmanuel Macron has two types of “remarks”
Regarding the speaking time of Emmanuel Macron, not yet officially a candidate, the Arcom “makes the separation between his remarks as head of state, and the remarks in the political debate”, explains Roch-Olivier Maistre. Thus, when the president, during his vows on Friday, December 31, “a review of its action over five years is an element of national policy”, so it is accounted for by the Authority. Conversely, when Emmanuel Macron talks about the Covid-19 epidemic, it is not part of his speaking time.