In an interview with Bérangère Lepetit, lawyer Chomiac de Sas discussed the contemporary challenges related to cyberbullying and the contribution of new technological solutions designed to secure online content.
Read the article on the Le Parisien website.
For several years, reports of harassment of children on social media in a school setting have been increasing, yet public authorities have yet to find effective solutions. Common in the realm of new technologies, it is the private sector and the innovation of startups that are driving the research and development of tools to support victims.
Another prime target is influencers, athletes, and public figures who, following their stances on current events and social issues, can face waves of criticism that can escalate into cyberbullying.
Online harassment: how to combat it using innovative tools
In this context, several technological solutions are emerging to help victims of these actions, both individuals and professionals, particularly through systems for capturing and recording messages for evidentiary purposes.
Historically, procedures were carried out by trusted third parties such as bailiffs or police/gendarmerie services to validate, certify, time-stamp, and store signed documents.
The technology considered for this security is often blockchain.
Indeed, combined with a form of electronic signature, blockchain technology makes it possible to protect the integrity and authenticity of a document through mechanisms for certifying its origin and obtaining third-party consent to its content.
Influencers and cyberbullying: particularly vulnerable victims
Cyberbullying is on the rise, fueled by social media platforms that encourage immediate and irrational posting. Live interactions and instant chat on streaming services like Twitch and YouTube, along with Twitter’s lax posting policies, foster abuse among users.
Many influencers, athletes, politicians, authors, and other public figures are frequently targeted on social media. Encouraged, sometimes insistently, to take a stand on current events or social issues, influencers’ posts can be met with waves of harsh criticism and even criminal content: defamation, insults, rape or death threats, and so on.
The sheer volume of posts makes it difficult to search for and identify the content.
Blockchain & electronic signature: new forms of proof
Electronic signature. In matters of evidence, French law distinguishes between so-called legal proof and imperfect proof:
Legal or “perfect” proof concerns elements whose probative value is guaranteed by law: written documents (authentic or private), judicial admissions, decisive oaths, and reliable copies.
Imperfect proof, left to the discretion of judges, concerns all writings that do not constitute perfect proof: witness statements, supplementary oaths, extrajudicial admissions, judicial presumptions, acknowledgments, etc.
Based on Article 1362, blockchain fingerprints can be associated with a beginning of proof in writing: “any writing which, emanating from the person contesting an act or from the person they represent, makes what is alleged plausible.”
Blockchain & criminal law. In criminal matters, which are stricter in nature, evidence is freely admissible by any means (CPC. Art 427), including unfairly obtained outside judicial authorities (Crim. 31 Jan. 2007 n° 06-82.383) under the sovereign discretion of the judges.
Legal and judicial recognition of blockchain
EIn France, several legal provisions and government positions have recognized the contribution of blockchain technology:
- Ordinance No. 2017-1674 of December 8, 2017, concerning the use of a shared electronic registration system for the representation and transfer of financial securities.
- Decree No. 2018-1226 of December 24, 2018, concerning the use of a shared electronic registration system for the representation and transfer of financial securities and for the issuance and transfer of minibonds (this provision was repealed in 2021).
- Law No. 2019-486 of May 22, 2019, concerning the growth and transformation of businesses, known as the PACTE Law.
A question posed to the Government in 2019 concluded that the use of blockchain as evidence was sufficiently supported by existing law: freedom of proof of legal facts (Article 1358 of the Civil Code), private acts (Article 1359 of the Civil Code), non-discrimination against electronic documents provided the author is identified and the integrity of the storage is guaranteed (Article 1366 of the Civil Code), free proof between merchants (Article 110-3), and rules on electronic signatures (Article 1367 of the Civil Code).
Internationally, foreign jurisdictions are gradually taking positions on the status and evidentiary value granted to blockchain:
In China, on September 7, 2018, the Chinese Supreme Court admitted the admissibility of evidence of data authenticity from a blockchain.
In Italy, Law No. 12/19 of January 11, 2019, concerning support and simplification for businesses and public administration, establishes legal recognition for the time-stamping function based on blockchain.
