Are you a victim of cyberbullying, defamation, images shared without your consent or any other form of online violence? Based in Paris and operating throughout France, INFLUXIO Lawyers intervenes to stop the harm urgently and pursue full redress.
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Practical cases
Four typical scenarios from creators and executives, and how the attorney and the communicator act together. Illustrative examples.
Influence · Advertising
A brand challenges a creator over a paid partnership posted without the "advertising" label. Risk of misleading commercial practice and contractual dispute. We bring the content into compliance, secure the contract and frame the next collaborations under the French Act of 9 June 2023.
Cyberbullying
A creator is targeted by a coordinated wave of insults and threats. We preserve the evidence (bailiff report), file a request to identify the authors (art. 145 of the French Code of Civil Procedure), notify the platforms (LCEN, DSA) and file criminal complaints while the unit reclaims the narrative.
Image · Privacy
A public figure discovers private photos posted by a former partner. We obtain emergency removal through interim proceedings and the de-indexing of Google results, and file a criminal complaint (art. 226-1 and 226-2-1 of the French Criminal Code on non-consensual dissemination).
Executive · Reputation
An executive is targeted by fake reviews and hostile articles in the middle of a fundraising round. We initiate an unfair-competition action (art. 1240 of the French Civil Code), obtain de-indexing and coordinate a media response to reassure investors and partners.
E-reputation, or digital reputation, is the perceived image of a person, brand or business on the Internet. It is built through search-engine results, online reviews, social media, press articles and user-generated content. An e-reputation attorney acts to protect this image against defamatory content, denigration, identity theft and image-rights violations.
Quick reference
| Type of harm | Legal basis | Limitation period | Preferred remedy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online defamation | Press Act of 29 July 1881 | 3 months | Interim relief + main action |
| Fake reviews (Google, TripAdvisor, Trustpilot) | Denigration / unfair competition (art. 1240 Civil Code) | 5 years | DSA takedown + damages |
| Commercial denigration | Unfair competition (art. 1240 Civil Code) | 5 years | Litigation + compensation |
| Cyberbullying | Articles 222-33-2-2 et seq. Criminal Code | 6 years | Criminal complaint + identification (art. 145 CPC) |
| Identity theft | Article 226-4-1 Criminal Code | 6 years | Criminal complaint + platform takedown |
| Image rights infringement | Article 9 Civil Code; art. 226-1 / 226-2-1 Criminal Code | 5 years (civil) | Interim relief + removal |
| Outdated content / right to be forgotten | Article 17 GDPR; CJEU Google Spain (C-131/12) | Variable | De-indexing request |
| Disclosure of personal data | GDPR (art. 17 right to erasure) | Variable | Erasure + compliance order |
Indicative summary. Each case calls for an individual legal assessment by an INFLUXIO partner.
The Creator Shield
Optional offerOptional offer, activated on request as a complement to INFLUXIO's legal support. It brings the firm and LaFrenchCom together in one message so that law and public opinion work in parallel, never in sequence.
The Creator Shield is not included by default: it is activated when the situation requires it, in addition to the advice and litigation handled by INFLUXIO Lawyers.
Response unit · INFLUXIO × LaFrenchCom
CLIENT · 09:14
LAFRENCHCOM · 09:16
INFLUXIO · 09:19
A secure per-client group, accessible at all times. INFLUXIO and LaFrenchCom teams present at the same time.
Legal qualification and communications reading delivered in parallel, never in sequence. One single debrief to the talent.
For major crises, an extended coordination channel with the talent, their agency and their advisers.
Written report of notices issued, removals obtained and legal actions initiated.
The two houses
The law firm
INFLUXIO is a law firm dedicated to the creator economy, exposed executives and digital law. It supports content creators, influencers, talents, founders, executives, agencies and brands across their legal needs: e-reputation, contracts and partnerships, advertising and influence law, intellectual property, image rights, media law and litigation.
influxio-avocat.comThe agency
Founded in 2014 by Florian Silnicki, LaFrenchCom is a French agency hyper-specialised in crisis communications. It supports executives, companies, institutions, public figures and law firms in their most exposed situations, in France and internationally. Its disciplines: crisis communications and crisis management, communications under judicial review and reputation management.
lafrenchcom.frThe founders
Whether a content creator or a company executive, today's client is a media outlet, a brand and a responsibility rolled into one person, almost always alone facing the storm. When the bad buzz hits, it is already too late to improvise. Our role is not to silence the controversy, but to give our clients back control of their narrative, in full consistency with their defence. With INFLUXIO, it is the same battle, and it is won within the same hours.
The creator economy and the lives of exposed executives have professionalised far faster than their legal culture. Contracts, transparency, image rights, intellectual property, civil and criminal liability: the exposure is real, and the framework has tightened since 2023. Too often, the lawyer only enters the stage once the crisis is already in place. With LaFrenchCom, we reverse this logic: secure upstream and, when a matter goes sideways, make legal and communications work as one single team.
Optional offer: one joint attorney + communicator unit, mobilisable from the very first hour of a crisis.
Talk to the teamInsights
E-reputation, or digital reputation, is the perceived image of a person, brand or company on the Internet. For a content creator, an influencer or an executive, it shapes the trust of audiences, partners, advertisers and investors.
An e-reputation attorney protects this image by handling legal issues related to defamation, denigration, identity theft, image rights, cyberbullying and personal data protection.
Viral posts, hateful comments, fake accounts, hostile articles, private message leaks, deepfakes: any of these channels can flip a reputation within hours. The e-reputation attorney intervenes upstream through advice and prevention, and downstream through removal actions, de-indexing and damages. Paired with a crisis-comms agency, they operate at the exact pace of social media.
Fast-growing creators are prime targets: contested partnerships, misread stories, denigration campaigns orchestrated by a rival community, raids by anonymous accounts, leaks of private messages. These attacks weigh directly on subscriber trust, brand-deal signing and account valuation. We qualify the attack, engage the platform, file urgent interim proceedings where needed and obtain compensation.
Founders, executives and partners are tightly identified with their company. An attack on their personal image (defamation, identity theft, fake profiles, biased articles) immediately spills over to the business, especially during a fundraising round. We protect both the individual and the company, mobilising press law, digital criminal law and GDPR.
Beyond companies, individuals and public figures may see their image attacked through defamatory statements, harmful content or false accusations. We act to stop these attacks, obtain content removal and protect privacy.
Structures that support talents must secure contracts, advertising disclosures and reputation at scale. We help them harden this compliance and react fast when one of their talents is targeted.
Denigration targets a competitor's products, services or activity. Sanctioned under Article 1240 of the French Civil Code and unfair competition law, it is subject to a five-year statute of limitations. Orchestrated fake reviews, misleading comparisons, coordinated social-media campaigns: we stop these practices, secure content removal and damages.
See our analysis of fake reviews and online denigration.
Fake Google reviews posted by a competitor, a former employee or a disgruntled client are among the most frequent attacks on the e-reputation of companies and executives.
On Google Reviews, TripAdvisor, Trustpilot, Yellow Pages, Booking or Glassdoor, these misleading, disparaging or clearly defamatory publications can be challenged on three complementary grounds: commercial denigration (Article 1240 of the French Civil Code, five-year limitation), defamation (Act of 29 July 1881, three-month limitation) and breach of the platform's terms of use. Our firm masters the full procedure: bailiff record to secure the evidence, DSA notification to the platform (Article 16 of EU Regulation 2022/2065), reporting to Google moderators, takedown request to the host (LCEN), application to identify the anonymous author (Article 145 of the French Code of Civil Procedure), then interim proceedings for urgent removal and main action for damages.
We routinely obtain removal within 48 to 72 hours when illegality is manifest. Our article explains step by step how to remove a fake Google review.
Unauthorised use of a trademark on social media, fake accounts using the name, counterfeiting of logos, parasitism: we combine counterfeiting actions, unfair competition claims and takedown procedures to protect the intangible assets of the talent and the company alike.
Online defamation involves the publication of false statements or accusations that damage a person's reputation. We initiate the appropriate actions (press-law interim proceedings, criminal complaint with civil-party constitution) in compliance with the strict formalities of the Act of 29 July 1881 and its three-month statute of limitations.
Cyberbullying and identity theft (Article 226-4-1 of the French Criminal Code) may target a creator, an executive, an employee or the brand itself. We initiate criminal proceedings, obtain judicial identification of anonymous authors and coordinate removals with the platforms.
Image rights cover the publication of photos or videos without the consent of the person concerned (Article 9 of the French Civil Code; Articles 226-1 and 226-2-1 of the French Criminal Code for the dissemination of intimate imagery). We file urgent interim proceedings to enforce these rights and protect privacy.
We advise creators, talents and executives upstream: risk audit, moderation policy, review management, non-disparagement clauses in contracts, compliant advertising disclosures, illicit-content reporting policy. This preventive approach drastically reduces the cost of a crisis.
We protect the trademark, the name, the reputation of executives and the trust of partners by handling infringements related to e-reputation and intellectual property. At stake: preserving valuation and revenue.
Faced with a coordinated attack, a bad buzz or a dispute escalating on social media, we deploy, with LaFrenchCom, a strategy combining content removal, legally framed communication and litigation. The objective: stop the spread and obtain compensation.
We draft and negotiate contracts that secure online reputation: non-disparagement clauses, confidentiality clauses, moderation agreements, terms of use, assignment of rights clauses for content.
We obtain the rapid removal of harmful or defamatory content by leveraging the appropriate procedures (DSA notice, accelerated proceedings on the merits under the LCEN, right to de-indexing) and by engaging the distribution platforms.
Accelerated proceedings on the merits under Article 6-3 of the LCEN (as amended by Law No. 2024-449 of 21 May 2024, known as the SREN Act) allow the removal of manifestly unlawful content from hosts and internet service providers.
The notification to hosts (LCEN and Article 16 of the DSA, EU Regulation 2022/2065) requires precise formalities: identification of the notifying party, description of the disputed content and legal basis.
The right to de-indexing, established by the CJEU Google Spain ruling of 13 May 2014 (C-131/12) and codified in Article 17 of the GDPR, allows requests to search engines to remove privacy-infringing results. The CJEU clarified its limits in its judgment of 24 September 2019 (Google LLC v. CNIL, C-507/17): de-indexing is not required worldwide.
The identification request (Article 145 of the French Code of Civil Procedure) compels platforms to disclose the identification data of the author of unlawful content. The unfair competition action (Article 1240 of the French Civil Code) sanctions denigration with a five-year statute of limitations.
The GDPR strengthens these tools through the right to object (Article 21) and the right to erasure (Article 17).
A crisis-communications agency is a consulting firm specialised in sensitive communications and crisis management.
Where the attorney acts on the legal terrain, the agency acts on narrative, opinion and media: it maps reputational risks, prepares public statements (media training), monitors the spread of a topic on social media and in the press, deconstructs accusations and ensures the media defence of the talent. In short, it helps them keep, or regain, control of their image when attacked.
LaFrenchCom, a French pioneer in crisis communications and crisis management, is one of its leading references.
Tailored support
Receive a clear, personalised quote from both our teams.
FAQ
An e-reputation attorney secures the removal of defamatory, disparaging or privacy-infringing online content, enforces the right to be forgotten against search engines, and holds authors and hosts liable under press law and defamation rules.
Because an online attack engages precise rights (defamation, denigration, image rights, personal data) and tight deadlines. The e-reputation attorney qualifies the attack, picks the right lever (notice, interim proceedings, criminal complaint, de-indexing) and secures content removal, where a simple public reply would not suffice.
We first preserve the evidence (bailiff report), then notify the platform or host (LCEN, DSA). If the content is manifestly unlawful and is not removed, we petition the interim-relief judge to obtain emergency removal, often within 48 hours, and the de-indexing of Google results.
We mobilise a joint attorney + communicator unit in emergency. The attorney preserves evidence, identifies the authors (Article 145 of the French Code of Civil Procedure) and launches proceedings; the communicator measures propagation, deconstructs accusations and helps you take the floor again.
Yes. A request based on Article 145 of the French Code of Civil Procedure compels platforms to disclose the identification data of the author of unlawful content. These elements then ground a criminal complaint or a civil action for damages.
We send the search engine a reasoned request based on Article 17 of the GDPR and the Google Spain case law. In case of refusal, we petition the CNIL and then, if needed, the court. De-indexing removes the result from the list, without necessarily deleting the source content, which may justify an additional action.
Yes. Since the French Act of 9 June 2023, any commercial content must be clearly and legibly identified, and certain paid partnerships require a written contract. Otherwise, the creator faces sanctions for misleading commercial practice and contractual disputes. A compliance audit conducted by the attorney and communicator secures these points upstream.
Defamation targets a person (attack on honour) and falls under the 1881 Act, with a three-month statute of limitations. Denigration targets a competitor's products, services or activity and falls under unfair competition (Article 1240 of the French Civil Code), with a five-year statute of limitations.
Qualification drives the procedure: it is the first thing the attorney does.
The attorney acts on the law; the agency acts on opinion. Concretely, LaFrenchCom measures the propagation of the topic, tracks its tone and relays, deconstructs accusations, prepares your public statements (media training) and organises, if needed, the media response.
The objective is not to silence the controversy, but to give you back control of your narrative, consistently with the legal strategy.
This is one of the most delicate decisions, and it is taken case by case, together. The purely legal reflex is often silence; but a poorly handled silence can, in the eyes of opinion, look like an admission. We arbitrate each statement with LaFrenchCom, taking into account the secrecy of the investigation, the interests of your defence and the media tempo.
The rule: never improvise, never communicate beside the legal stakes.
The attorney and the communicator operate in the same secure channel, from the very first alert. Legal qualification and communications reading are delivered to you in parallel, never in sequence, with one single debrief. The legal strategy stays directed by the attorney; communications align with it.
The attorney is bound by professional secrecy. LaFrenchCom acts under a confidentiality undertaking, where appropriate backed by a penalty clause. Each firm contracts and invoices its fees separately: there is no fee-sharing between the attorney and the agency.
Related publications
E-reputation lawyers in Paris
INFLUXIO is an e-reputation law firm in Paris for content creators, influencers and executives: removal of defamatory content, de-indexing and right to be forgotten, cyberbullying, image rights, defamation and denigration, influence compliance. With LaFrenchCom, a hyper-specialised crisis-communications agency, the Creators Shield unit brings together legal defence and crisis management under one entry point, with a joint crisis cell.
Response within 24 hours.
Written and reviewed by
Partner · Co-head of E-Reputation
Admitted to the Paris Bar and co-founding partner of INFLUXIO, Maître Raphaël MOLINA specialises in intellectual property, digital law and online reputation litigation. Each year he handles several hundred proceedings for content removal, delisting, fake reviews and hacked-account recovery, before civil and criminal courts. He contributed to drafting the French influencer law of June 9, 2023 and regularly speaks in the media and in professional training on digital legal issues.
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