France pushes for nationwide Kick ban after streamer died following “torture” broadcast

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The streaming platform Kick may be blocked in France following the death of French streamer Jean Pormanove. His death caused public outrage and has led to legal action that could result in a ban.

Raphaël Graven, who was known online as Jean Pormanove, died on August 18th at the age of 46 while live streaming on Kick. Leading up to his death, French news outlets reported he endured ten days of mistreatment during his streams, involving other creators, Owen ‘Naruto’ Cenazendotti and Safine Hamadi. Investigators are currently looking into claims of physical assault, being forced to consume substances, and being kept awake for long periods.

Kick quickly removed Naruto and Safine from its platform. The platform also ended its relationship with a marketing agency in France after facing criticism. The agency had recently used images of a deceased individual, Pormanove, in its advertising materials.

France’s Digital Affairs and AI Minister, Clara Chappaz, strongly criticized the incident as both humiliating and abusive. An official investigation began immediately afterward, but so far, no one has been charged with a crime. While an autopsy was performed, it didn’t find evidence that another person directly caused the death. Those involved in the livestream insist everything was agreed upon and planned.

You know, Pormanove’s mom is actually really supportive! She told me Naruto and Safine are genuinely good people, and honestly, she said they only ever had one little issue – something that happened at the gym. She really vouched for them!

Still, French authorities are pushing for a nationwide block of the platform.

Kick faces ban throughout France

Prosecutors in Nice have launched an investigation looking into accusations of serious assault, not helping someone in danger, and putting someone’s life at risk.

French news sources report that a Paris court will decide on December 19th whether to block Kick within France, following a request from the government.

During a fast-tracked hearing, prosecutors requested the court to close approximately fifteen channels linked to Pormanove’s inactive primary account, as they were still sharing his videos. However, the prosecutor argued that a six-month ban on the entire Kick platform, as requested by the government, was too severe.

Kick’s lawyers stated that the platform has removed all content related to Pormanove. They are also challenging the legality of a part of the Law for Confidence in the Digital Economy (LCEN) – specifically, Article 6-3 – which lets the government demand platforms restrict content before it’s even reviewed. On September 22nd, former Digital Affairs Minister Clara Chappaz filed a similar lawsuit against Kick, using the same part of the law.

Kick claimed that applying Article 6-3 in this situation would stifle free speech and unfairly penalize its vast user base for the misconduct of a small number of prohibited channels.

France cracks down on “torture” streams

A French court will announce its decision on December 19, 2025, regarding a government request to block Kick. If approved, Kick would be the first large international streaming service blocked in France using the LCEN legal process.

This whole situation has blown up into a massive political fight here in Europe, and honestly, it’s kind of scary. Whatever happens with this case could really change things for all of us gamers – it’ll basically decide how much control governments can have over streaming and online platforms, especially after something bad happens. It feels like a really important moment that could set a new standard for online freedom.

So, things are getting interesting! It turns out France is also looking into what happened with Lokal, Pormanove’s old streaming team. They’ve started a new channel on Twitch called ‘OGK Decoy’, and it’s run by Gwen Cenazandotti – that’s Owen ‘Naruto’ Cenazandotti’s brother. It’s definitely a weird situation and I’m keeping an eye on it.

OGK Decoy is facing accusations of getting around Twitch’s rules and continuing to show violent and humiliating content. Specifically, they are accused of physically abusing a new member of their group, Marie.

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2025-12-02 21:49