Prosecutors in the south of France have said they are investigating the death of a 46-year-old man who died during a live streaming event showing him being mistreated.
The man – whose real name is Raphael Graven, but was known online as Jean Pormanove or JP – had built a following by putting on live internet shows in which he was abused or humiliated.
Prosecutors in the city of Nice said he died on Monday in the nearby village of Contes.
The Nice prosecutors’ office said it had launched an investigation to determine the cause of death and had ordered an autopsy.
Users online said the video of the 46-year-old man was first screened live on an Australian platform called Kick and widely shared afterwards.
Police in Nice have for the past eight months been probing alleged “deliberate violent act” against “vulnerable people” that have ended up as videos on the internet.
That investigation, which began in December, sprang from a report by French outlet Mediapart revealing the existence of such videos, watched by thousands of viewers, especially on the Kick platform.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Kick said the company was “urgently reviewing the circumstances and engaging with relevant stakeholders to investigate the situation.”
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Jeanpormanove and extend our condolences to his family, friends and community,” the statement said.
The platform’s community guidelines were “designed to protect creators” and Kick was “committed to upholding these standards across our platform”, the statement added.
Sarah El Haïry, France’s high commissioner for children, said “platforms have an immense responsibility in regulating online content so that our children are not exposed to violent content.”
With Agence France-Presse