Kick faces a potential fine of $49 million after Jean Pormanove's death on livestream

The Australian live streaming platform Kick might face a potential fine of upto $49.5 million after a 46-year-old French streamer, Raphaël Graven, more famously known as Jean Pormanove, passed away, as per Dexerto. Pormanove died on August 18 during a continuous 12-day long live stream.

Pormanove, whose death was broadcast live on his Kick channel, faced humiliation and violent actions from his co-streamers, Naruto and Safine, for days before he died. As per The Guardian, the streamer endured being hit, being shot with a paintball gun, being strangled and intense sleep deprivation before dying in his sleep.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Pormanove’s death prompted Australia’s web safety monitor, eSafety to accuse Kick, which was co-founded in Australia by Edward Craven and Bijan Tehrani, of defaulting on its own guidelines which prohibit the broadcasting of violent content.

The Community Guidelines of Kick prohibit the broadcasting of violent content

Kick, which was founded in 2022, has shared a set of Community Guidelines which it says are in accordance with its Terms of Service. The streaming platform also states that streamers, moderators and viewers are advised to abide by the guidelines, the violation of which might lead to a propagation of harmful content on Kick.

While noting that some instances of violence may be contextual, Kick’s Community Guidelines state,

“While violence may be contextual and there can be varying degrees of impact, we do not permit content that depicts or incites abhorrent violence including significant harm, suffering or death. We further do not allow malicious trolling, harassment or brigading.”

A moderator’s summary for Kick also remarks that content creators are advised to “ensure safety” and to “minimize harm.” It also adds,

“It’s crucial to ensure that any potentially violent content such as stunts are handled responsibly and with consideration. Where the outcome of streamed content displays excessive violence we will take action.”

Kick’s guidelines also state that the harassment of others is not permitted by the platform.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, eSafety can invoke its enforcement powers which can initiate fines worth $49.5 million against Kick, which is accused of violating its own guidelines. As per the news outlet, it is compulsory for online platforms in Australia to implement measures to protect Australian from harmful and illegal content, and must enforce the safeguards. A spokesperson for eSafety told the publication,

“This is a tragic case where someone has lost their life, and underscores how the creation of more extreme content, in this case involving actual violence, can have devastating, real-world consequences.”

Implicating the streaming platform, the spokesperson added,

“It’s evident that streamers and content creators are seeking to create more extreme content that generates more engagement through the opaque algorithms and pervasive and persuasive design features many of these platforms employ…ESafety will use the full range of our enforcement powers as appropriate where there is non-compliance.”

French authorities have a limited scope to hold Kick accountable

A autopsy conducted on Jean Pormanove stated that his death was "was not traumatic in origin" and neither was it “related to the intervention of a third party,” as per BBC. The news outlet noted that a French prosecutor stated that Pormanove’s death might be “medical and/or toxicological” in nature.

France's broadcast and online regulator, ARCOM, noted that it was limited in its scope to hold Kick accountable as it did not have any representation in France, noted France 24. As per the news outlet, Martin Ajdari, the agency’s head, wrote in an op-ed in Le Monde, that ARCOM had no “direct authority” over Kick’s fate in France.

The agency can only enforce EU laws on “those that have a presence in France,” said Adjari, according to France 24.

The news platform noted that a French judge could still comment on the matter of how to implement safeguards on online content.