1. Cybercrime & Cybersecurity
1.1. Cybercrime
Phishing: An international operation led by Interpol and European police forces has succeeded in dismantling a vast cybercriminal infrastructure by taking down more than 33,000 fraudulent websites and blocking 45,000 IP addresses. This major operation primarily targeted phishing networks, fake e-commerce sites and servers used for ransomware attacks. (Press release dated 13 March 2026)
IPTV: The Arras Public Prosecutor’s Office has prosecuted around 20 users of illegal IPTV set-top boxes as part of an operation targeting the infringement of broadcasting rights; these devices enable unauthorised access to pirated TV streams, and this case highlights the intensified criminal proceedings against illegal streaming services (Press release from the Professional Football League, 19 March 2026)
Phishing: Hackers linked to Russian intelligence (APT28 group) are conducting a large-scale espionage campaign targeting WhatsApp and Signal users via sophisticated phishing techniques. These attacks are believed to be targeting politicians, military personnel and journalists. (Press release dated 9 March 2026)
Leakbase: A joint international operation between the FBI and Europol led to the seizure of the Leakbase forum, an English-language website dedicated to hacking and sharing stolen data. Authorities were able to recover its entire database in order to identify and prosecute those involved in trafficking hacked data. (Press release of March 5th, 2026)
Zero-day vulnerabilities: The CEO of a supplier of zero-day vulnerabilities (software vulnerabilities not identified by publishers) to the United States and the Five Eyes alliance has been sentenced to seven years in prison for stealing and selling eight vulnerabilities to a Russian broker. (Press release dated 24 February 2026)
1.2. Cybersecurity
Cybercrime: A vast criminal network on the dark web, operated from China, has been dismantled by Europol and several European countries. It comprised more than 300,000 illegal websites, created between 2020 and 2025 to trap internet users seeking criminal services. The network was run by a single individual. Approximately 10,000 victims were lured in, resulting in total proceeds of around €345,000. (Europol press release, March 19th, 2026)
NIS 2: ANSSI has published the Cyber France Framework (ReCyF), a working document listing the recommended measures for achieving the security objectives of the NIS 2 Directive, against a backdrop of delays in transposition in France, prompting impatience from the Higher Commission for Digital Affairs and Postal Services, which is calling for a swift review of the draft legislation in order to remove the uncertainty weighing on the stakeholders concerned (ANSSI press release of 17 March 2026)
Cybercrime: Major tech companies (Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, etc.) have announced that they have reached an agreement to combat online scams and fraud (Press release dated 16 March 2026)
Cyber threats: The French National Cybersecurity Agency has published its overview of cyber threats in 2025. The report indicates that the four sectors most affected are education and research, ministries and local authorities, healthcare, and telecommunications. (Overview of cyber threats in 2025)
Tiktok: The social network has announced that it will not be rolling out end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for its communications, highlighting the risk this poses to users. Tiktok justifies this decision by stating that full encryption would prevent it from detecting and moderating certain dangerous content. (Press release dated March 2, 2026)
2. Desinformation and information warfare
Study: The French Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (ARCOM) has published a study on the French public’s susceptibility to disinformation and an assessment of the measures implemented by platforms to combat information manipulation (Study and report published on 24 March 2026).
Foreign Manipulation and Interference: The European External Action Service’s (EEAS) fourth report on foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) outlines trends for 2025 and notes a growing threat, with 35% of incidents attributed to Russia and China, a 259% increase in detected incidents compared to 2024 involving the use of AI, and a particular focus on elections and government officials. (Press release of March 12th 2026)
Disinformation: According to a study by Sopra Steria on the global economic impact of disinformation, the global cost of disinformation in 2024 is estimated to reach $417 billion (Press release of March 12th, 2026).
3. Personal data and privacy
3.1. Data breaches and incidents
3.2. Penalties and regulations
Encryption: The Forum on Information and Democracy has published a report setting out recommendations for regulating private messaging services without compromising end-to-end encryption, with a view to curbing the spread of mass disinformation. (Press release dated 10 March 2026)
Children’s privacy: The Global Privacy Enforcement Network’s audit reveals that the protection of children’s data online remains inadequate despite some good practices, with increased data collection, frequent sharing with third parties and age verification mechanisms that can often be circumvented, exposing minors to persistent risks (Press release from the French Data Protection Authority dated 25 March 2026)
CNIL: The CNIL has published a recommendation on web filtering proxy servers to guide data controllers in implementing solutions that comply with the GDPR, ensuring the security of internet traffic whilst protecting users’ personal data (Press release from the French Data Protection Authority dated 29 January 2026)
Collection of personal data: In a decision dated March 4, 2026, the Council of State upheld the €40 million fine imposed by the French Data Protection Authority on advertising company Criteo for violating the GDPR. At the time, the French Authority criticized the company for failing to verify that users had actually given their consent, for a lack of transparency regarding the use of data, and for making it difficult for users to exercise their rights. The Council of State therefore upheld the penalty imposed. (French Council of State, March 4th 2026, Criteo Company, n°482872)
Data protection: The French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) has published and updated its document on personal data protection policy, bringing together case law and important texts for professionals. (Tables Informatiques et Libertés – 2026 edition)
4. Digital Economy and Competition
Combating Piracy of Cultural and Sports Content: The Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication has released its 2025 report on the fight against piracy of cultural and sports content, highlighting an intensification of efforts and a broader range of stakeholders involved. The report notes in particular that while piracy declined significantly between 2021 and 2025, it remains widespread, with approximately 7.6 million users utilizing illicit services. (Report of March 23th, 2026)
IPTV: The Professional Football League is stepping up its fight against illegal IPTV and has just secured court orders against users of this service. (Press release of March 18th, 2026)
Injunction: In a judgment dated 28 January 2026, the Paris Court of Appeal confirmed the validity of dynamic injunctions, which allow blocking to be automatically extended to mirror sites without the need for a new court order. This mechanism is therefore proportionate provided that it targets identified unlawful content and that the updating of filtering measures is based on structured cooperation between rights holders and technical intermediaries. (Paris Court of Appeal, No. 24/12568, 28 Jan. 2026)
Social media addiction: Meta and Google have been found liable in the US for designing platforms (Instagram, YouTube) with features deemed addictive that contributed to a user’s mental health issues; a jury at the Los Angeles County Superior Court found them negligent and ordered them to pay $6 million, paving the way for increased litigation over the liability of digital platforms (Press release from the Los Angeles court, 25 March 2026)
Shein: The Paris Court of Appeals has upheld the ruling of the Paris Judicial Court and rejected the requests to block the Shein platform. In late 2025, the French government had filed a lawsuit against the platform seeking an order to block it. (Paris Court of Appeal, March 19th 2026, n° 25/20957)
5. Artificial Intelligence
5.1. Copyright in the age of IA
Streaming: An American man has pleaded guilty to embezzling over $8 million in royalties by using artificial intelligence to generate hundreds of thousands of songs, which were played on repeat by billions of automated accounts (bots). (Press release dated 19 March 2026)
Transparency: With the rise of artificial intelligence, the European Union is discussing new directives to strengthen copyright protection and ensure fair remuneration for creators whose works feed algorithms. (Press release dated 10 March 2026)
Copyright: Encyclopædia Britannica and its subsidiary Merriam-Webster filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on 13 March 2026, accusing the company of using nearly 100,000 copyrighted articles without authorisation to train its AI models. (Statement of claim filed on 13 March 2026)
5.2. Regulation and supervision
Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Exchange Platform: On March 17, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) launched an Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Exchange Platform, with the aim of fostering dialogue among experts on the links between AI and intellectual property. (Press release of March 17th, 2026)
AI Infrastructure: On 17 March 2026, WIPO launched an AI Infrastructure Exchange Platform in Geneva, bringing together more than 1,700 stakeholders and a network of 90 experts to foster dialogue on the technical and rights management issues related to AI and to guide future work (Press release from the World Intellectual Property Organisation, 17 March 2026)
AI/Media: Qwant launches a generative AI search tool based on a unique 50/50 revenue-sharing partnership with French news publishers. This model is intended as an ethical alternative to the web giants by directly remunerating media outlets for the use of their content in chatbot responses. (Press release dated 10 March 2026)
‘Refund’: A new scam on Vinted uses artificial intelligence to generate ultra-realistic photos of items and deceive buyers with fraudulent listings. These scams, which are increasingly difficult to detect, aim to steal users’ money via payment methods external to the platform. (Press release dated 9 March 2026)
6. Intellectual Property and counterfeiting
6.1. Legal actions and proceedings
Internet Service Providers: The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the $1 billion judgment against Internet service provider Cox for copyright infringement. The Court made an important distinction: mere knowledge of copyright infringement does not entail legal liability. To be held liable, an ISP must actively encourage copyright infringement or provide a service designed for that purpose. However, that was not the case here. (Press release of March 25th, 2026)
Streaming: The French Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (Arcom) has ordered the blocking and delisting of 35 official websites and four streaming platforms broadcasting Russian media subject to European sanctions. This action aims to halt the distribution in France of Russian content subject to sanctions, with the support of internet service providers (ISPs) and search engines. (Press release dated 26 February 2026)
IPTV: A US court has dismissed a $25 million lawsuit filed by pay-TV company DISH Network against British hosting provider Innetra in a case related to IPTV piracy. The court dismissed the case on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction, as Innetra is a British company with servers located in the Netherlands. (Press release of March 12th, 2026)
Copyright: A coalition of thirteen major publishers, including Penguin Random House and Elsevier, has filed a lawsuit against the ‘shadow’ library Anna’s Archive for massive copyright infringement involving millions of books and articles. The plaintiffs are seeking a permanent injunction to shut down the site. (Complaint filed on 6 March 2026)
Piracy: French piracy giant YggTorrent has announced its permanent closure following a breach of its own servers. This decision comes amid a climate of tension, with the announced switch to a pay-to-use model already sparking fierce opposition from its community. (Press release dated 4 March 2026)
Trademark law: The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has confirmed that the inactivity of a domain name does not exclude bad faith, thus condemning the owner of louisvuitton-group.com for attempting to take advantage of the reputation of the Louis Vuitton brand. (Decision dated 3 January 2026)
Streaming: The pirate streaming site P-Stream voluntarily shut down after facing legal pressure from the film industry, led by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the anti-piracy alliance Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE). Based on the DMCA, the US court ordered services such as Cloudflare and Discord to provide information on several streaming sites, including pstream.mov. (Press release of March 6th, 2026)
6.2. Regulation and supervision
Notorious Market List: The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) publishes its 2025 findings on online and physical markets that are alleged to be involved in or facilitate significant trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy. (2025 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy)
Publication of the results of French Customs operations in 2025: 20.22 million counterfeit items removed from the market (Press release, February 2026)
Counterfeiting: The French courts recently ruled that the mere registration of a company can be considered a punishable ‘preparatory act’ if it is part of a strategy of counterfeiting or unfair competition. (Tribunal Judiciaire de Paris, 3rd Chamber, 2nd Section, 10 October 2025, No. 24 13932)
7. Regulation & Justice
7.1. French Law
AI and culture: The Council of State has upheld a Senate proposal to establish a presumption that AI providers are exploiting cultural content. It is therefore up to AI providers to prove that they have not used a work to train their AI models. (Advisory opinion dated 23 March 2026)
Marketplace: The Paris Court of Appeal has ruled that seeking the suspension of Shein’s marketplace on the grounds of alleged breaches by third-party sellers constitutes a disproportionate measure, finding that there was no systemic failure and that suspension would constitute an excessive infringement of the freedom to conduct business (Press release from the Paris Court of Appeal, 19 March 2026)
7.2. European Law
DSA: The European Commission has published a report on the implementation of Article 18 of the Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires online platforms to report any suspected serious criminal offences to the authorities. To this end, it emphasises the need for harmonised procedures and secure communication channels to ensure the effectiveness of reporting, whilst safeguarding fundamental rights. (Report dated 18 March 2026)
DSA: The European Commission has launched formal proceedings against Snapchat to assess its compliance with the Digital Services Act, following concerns about shortcomings in the protection of minors, particularly regarding age verification, default settings, content moderation and reporting mechanisms, which may not ensure an adequate level of online safety and protection (European Commission press release of 26 March 2026)
DMA: The six ‘gatekeepers’ designated on 6 March 2023 by the European Commission (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft) have submitted their updated reports to the Commission detailing the measures taken to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). (Press release dated 9 March 2026)
DSA: Platform X is set to amend its account verification system, including badges, in order to comply with the Digital Services Act’s requirements regarding transparency and the fight against misleading practices, following pressure from the European Commission (Press release of 12 March 2026)
Anti-scam measures: The government has submitted a draft decree on anti-scam measures to the European Commission, with a view to its entry into force on 1 September 2026 (Press release dated 6 March 2026).
