France probes death of man seen enduring abuse on live video stream
French prosecutors have launched an investigation into the death of a 46-year-old man who appeared in live streams on the Kick platform, where he was regularly subjected to violence and humiliations in front of online audiences.
The man, identified as Raphael Graven, known online as Jean Pormanove, was found dead on Monday in the village of Contes, near Nice. Authorities have ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Clara Chappaz, France’s junior minister for AI and digital technology, condemned the abuse as “absolutely horrific” and said she had referred the matter to the country’s digital regulator Arcom, as well as filed a report to Pharos, the government portal for flagging illegal internet content.
Kick, the Australia-registered live streaming platform where Pormanove appeared, said it was cooperating with authorities and had banned all co-streamers involved in the broadcast. “Our priority is to protect creators and ensure a safer environment on Kick,” the company said in a statement on X.
French media have broadcast excerpts of the hours-long streams, showing Pormanove being hit, insulted, strangled, doused with paint and oil, and shot with a paintball gun. It remains unclear whether he willingly took part in the abuse, whether the violence was genuine or staged, and whether his health conditions played a role in his death.
A lawyer for one of the two co-streamers told BFM television that Pormanove had cardiovascular issues and insisted the scenes were scripted. “All those scenes are just staged, they follow a script,” said Yassin Sadouni.
The investigation is ongoing as prosecutors work to determine responsibility for Graven’s death and assess the liability of online platforms in moderating violent content.
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