Websites: Failure to Include Legal Notices Is a Criminal Offense
Key takeaway
Any individual or legal entity that operates a website must publish legal notices. Failure to do so constitutes a criminal offense.
Under the French Law on Confidence in the Digital Economy (LCEN), any individual or legal entity that operates a website is required to include legal notices specifying, among other details, the name of the publication director.
However, many websites remain non-compliant: some do not display any legal notices, while others contain false or incomplete information. Yet, the publication director, who is responsible for the website’s content, must be easily reachable to enable the exercise of the right of reply, to report illegal content, or to request the correction or removal of defamatory material.
The absence, inaccuracy, or incompleteness of these notices constitutes a criminal offense that may result in the liability of the website publisher.
In this article, we review the concept of legal notices, relevant case law, and the available methods for identifying a website’s publication director when such notices are missing.
1. Legal Notices: A Mandatory Requirement for All Website Publishers
1.1 Why Are Legal Notices Required?
Publishing a website is not a neutral act. Any editorial content, whether created by the website operator or by a third party, generates rights and obligations. When these rights are infringed (for example, through copyright infringement, defamation, invasion of privacy, or a breach of personal data protection), the publisher’s criminal liability may be engaged.
Individuals affected or harmed by online content must be able to quickly identify a responsible contact person (the publication director or legal representative) in order to exercise a right of reply, report unlawful content, or request the removal of disputed material. (1)
To ensure such accountability, the law imposes transparency requirements on publishers through the publication of clear and complete legal notices on their websites.
1.2 What Information Must Be Included in Legal Notices?
The French Law on Confidence in the Digital Economy (LCEN) requires every publisher of an online public communication service to make available identifying information. This information must be easily accessible, typically in the website footer.
The mandatory information varies depending on the publisher’s legal status: (2)
- If the publisher is an individual: full name, address, and phone number, as well as, where applicable, the registration number in the Trade Register (RCS) or the National Companies Register (RNE);
- If the publisher is a legal entity: corporate name, registered office address, phone number, RCS or RNE registration number, and share capital. It is also recommended to include the VAT identification number and a contact email address;
- For both individuals and legal entities: the name of the publication director (or co-director) and, for journalistic websites, the name of the editor-in-chief, as well as the hosting provider’s details (name or company name, address, and phone number).
Individuals who publish a website for non-professional purposes may remain anonymous by displaying only their hosting provider’s contact details, provided that their identifying information has been properly communicated to the hosting provider as required by law.
For regulated or licensed activities, the name and address of the competent authority, professional body, or organization, along with information verifying the authorization to operate (registration number, license, or reference to applicable professional rules), must also be provided.
1.3 What Are the Penalties for Non-Compliance?
Failure to publish legal notices, or publishing false or misleading information, is a criminal offense:
- For individuals: up to one year of imprisonment and a fine of €75,000;
- For legal entities: a fine of up to €375,000, which may be supplemented by additional penalties under Article 131-39 of the French Penal Code (such as prohibition from operating, or company dissolution). (3)
2. Case Law on the Absence of Legal Notices
Although the obligation to publish legal notices has existed since the LCEN came into force in June 2004, judicial decisions sanctioning the absence or inaccuracy of such notices remain relatively rare. Nonetheless, several cases illustrate the criminal nature of this obligation.
2.1 First Conviction (2014)
In a case decided on July 11, 2014, a company that had been the target of a disparaging comment posted on <notetonentreprise.com> obtained a court order to remove the content and identify its author. However, the website contained no legal notices, making the enforcement of the order impossible.
A criminal complaint was therefore filed for non-compliance. Following an investigation, the website’s publishers were identified. The defendants were found guilty of violating the LCEN and were convicted by the Paris Criminal Court, which imposed total fines amounting to €13,500. (4)
2.2 Falsified Legal Notices (2017)
On March 14, 2017, the publisher of the website "Égalité et Conciliation" was convicted by the Paris Criminal Court and sentenced to a €5,000 fine and a three-month suspended prison sentence.
The severity of the sentence was due to the defendant’s prior convictions for press-related offenses and the fact that the legal notices falsely identified individuals who had no connection to the website and who were, in fact, serving criminal sentences. (5)
2.3 Absence of a Co-Publication Director (2019)
In a defamation case decided on July 10, 2019, a former journalist was unable to bring an immediate action against a political website due to the absence of legal notices. When the notice was eventually published, the appointed publication director, a politician, benefited from parliamentary immunity.
The court recalled that under Article 93-2 of the French Law of July 29, 1982, when the publication director benefits from parliamentary immunity, a co-publication director without such immunity must be appointed.
The Paris Civil Court (Tribunal de grande instance) found the website publisher at fault. (6)
2.4 Absence of Legal Notices and Failure to Comply with the Right of Reply (2024)
More recently, on November 29, 2024, the website <Tourmag.com> was convicted for failure to comply with legal notice requirements and for violating the right of reply.
Because no legal notices were available, the claimant company could only send its request for publication of a reply to one of the company co-executives. The right of reply was initially published incompletely, then republished outside the statutory time limit and in an inappropriate section of the website.
The court found Tourmag.com and its co-executives criminally liable for breaching the obligation to publish legal notices, and one co-executive personally liable for failing to comply with the right of reply. The company and its co-executives were fined a total of €17,000, including €7,000 specifically for failure to comply with the legal notice publication requirement. (7)
3. What to Do When a Website Lacks Legal Notices
Individuals whose rights have been violated as a result of an online publication must be able to contact the website publisher to assert their rights.
When legal notices are missing, several methods can be used to identify the website’s publication director.
3.1 Search Through the Website’s Visible Channels
If the website includes a contact form or email address, it may be possible to request the publisher’s contact details directly, provided that these channels exist and that the contact actually follows through the request.
If the website’s name corresponds to the name of the company, information about the company and its directors can often be found on business registry platforms such as infogreffe.fr or societe.com.
However, company director details may be redacted for privacy or data protection reasons. In such cases, a Kbis extract (official company registration document) can be ordered. For foreign companies, similar online registries exist in many countries.
3.2 Domain Registration Lookup (Whois / RDAP)
It is also possible to check the domain name registration data using a Whois service. (8) However, the registrant’s information is not always publicly available, either for privacy reasons or in compliance with personal data protection laws.
3.3 Request Information from the Hosting Provider
Some hosting providers may disclose identifying information about a website’s publisher upon a justified request. For .fr domains, Afnic (the French domain name registry) can also provide registration details when properly justified. The hosting provider or Afnic will release the information in their possession. Unfortunately, this data is not always accurate.
3.4 Filing a Complaint
If all amicable identification attempts fail, a complaint may be filed with the Public Prosecutor for non-compliance and failure to provide legal notices. This allows an investigation to be opened to identify the website’s publisher before initiating legal proceedings.
It is strongly recommended to obtain a bailiff report (constat de commissaire de justice) prior to filing a complaint, motion, or lawsuit, to establish proof that the website in question lacks the required legal notices.
In any event, when legal notices are missing or inaccurate, the company’s executive is by default considered the publication director. (9)
Many French and European websites remain non-compliant with applicable regulations, not only for missing legal notices, but also for lacking, incomplete, or abusive Terms of Use or Terms of Sale, or for failing to comply with personal data protection (GDPR) or cookie regulations. Nonetheless, there are various ways to obtain identifying information about such websites’ publishers. In the event of legal proceedings, website non-compliance can be considered an aggravating factor against the site operator.
As for non-European websites, obtaining the publisher’s information will depend on the data that is publicly available online and the level of cooperation from the competent authorities.
Don't hesitate to contact us should you nee legal guidance in ensuring your site’s legal compliance, including legal notices, Terms of Use/Terms of Sale, GDPR, and cookie management.
(1) We do not address here the issue of e-reputation and the identification of internet users who post anonymous content (texts, photos, or videos).
(2) Law n°82-652 of July 29, 1982 on audiovisual communication (Art. 93-2) and Law n°2004-575 of 21 June, 2004 on Confidence in the Digital Economy as amended - LCEN (Art. 1-1 I and II, formerly Art. 6-III)
(3) LCEN Article 1-2 (formerly Art. 6-VI 2)
(4) Paris Civil court (TGI), 17th ch. crim., July 11, 2014, STEF v. Olivier and Jean-Claude G.
(5) Paris Civil court (TGI), 17th ch. crim., March 14, 2017, LICRA, UEJF et al. v. M. X. This decision was then confirmed by the Paris Court of appeals on January 18, 2018. The appeal to the Cour de cassation by the defendant was dismissed on January 22, 2019.
(6) Paris Civil court (TGI), 17th ch. crim., July 10, 2019, Mr. X. v. Mr. Y.
(7) Marseille Civil court, crim. ch., Nov. 29, 2024, MWR Life LLC v. Mssrs X. and Y. & Tourmag.com
(8) The Whois protocol was replaced by the RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) protocol in early 2025. Whois data is still accessible, but this protocol will gradually be phased out in favor of RDAP.
(9) Cass. crim., January 22, 2019, case n°18-81.779
Bénédicte DELEPORTE
Avocat
Deleporte Wentz Avocat
www.dwavocat.com
October 2025