The legal notices refer to a set of identification information that any publisher of a publicly accessible website must display. This obligation is based on the law for confidence in the digital economy (LCEN) of June 21, 2004, which was amended by the SREN law of May 21, 2024: the identification obligations are now found in Article 1-1 of the LCEN, rather than in the often-cited Article 6-III from older models.
Article 1-1 of the LCEN: what the SREN law has actually changed
Many legal notice templates available online still refer to Article 6-III of the LCEN. Since May 2024, this basis is obsolete. The SREN law has moved and reformulated the identification obligations to Article 1-1, which changes the legal reference to cite on the legal notice page.
In practice, the content to display remains comparable: name or company name, address, contact email, identity of the host. The difference lies in the legal reference itself. A site that still mentions Article 6-III is not compliant with the current wording of the text. This discrepancy may seem trivial, but it indicates a failure to update that, in a context of inspection or litigation, undermines the legal credibility of the site.
To observe how this structuring works on a concrete blog, the legal notices of Blogeek illustrate a format suitable for a natural person publisher, with hosting and contact information clearly separated.
Legal notices and privacy policy: two distinct obligations on a website
A common confusion is to group all legal obligations on a single page. The legal notices identify the publisher and the host. The privacy policy falls under the GDPR and concerns the processing of personal data. These two pages respond to different legal texts and serve distinct purposes.
As soon as a site uses a contact form, a newsletter, or a traffic analysis tool, specific GDPR obligations are triggered. The publisher must then inform visitors on several specific points:
- The purpose of each data collection (why the email is requested, what the analytical cookie is for)
- The legal basis for processing (consent, legitimate interest, performance of a contract)
- The duration of data retention and potential recipients
- The rights of the individuals concerned (access, rectification, deletion, portability)
This information must appear in a dedicated privacy policy or be presented at the time of collection. Integrating it only into the legal notices is not sufficient to comply with the GDPR. A blog that collects email addresses via a subscription form without a separate privacy page is at risk of non-compliance, even if its legal notices are complete.
Sanctions for lack of legal notices: what a blog risks
The LCEN provides for criminal sanctions for publishers who do not publish their legal notices. For a natural person (blogger, self-employed), the penalty can reach one year in prison and a fine. For a legal entity, the amount of the fine is multiplied.
Beyond the criminal framework, the absence of legal notices has concrete effects on the relationship with visitors and partners. An advertiser or an advertising agency regularly checks the compliance of partner sites. A blog without legal notices loses commercial credibility even before any legal proceedings.
The risk is not limited to inspections. An internet user dissatisfied with content or a purchase can report the absence of publisher identification. Without legal notices, it becomes impossible to know to whom to address a complaint, which can expedite a report to the competent authorities.
European ODR platform removed: a mention to remove from your site
Merchant sites were required to publish a link to the European Online Dispute Resolution platform (ODR/RLL). This platform ceased to accept new complaints on March 20, 2025, and was permanently closed on July 20, 2025.
E-commerce site publishers must therefore remove the old mentions referring to this tool. Keeping a link to a disappeared page sends a signal of negligence to visitors and search engines. For blogs that do not sell online, this obligation did not apply, but those who added this link as a precaution must also remove it.
Content of legal notices according to the publisher’s legal status
The details of the information to display vary depending on whether the publisher is a natural person or a legal entity. A blogger in a micro-enterprise has different obligations than an association or a company.
| Information | Natural Person | Legal Entity |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | First and last name | Company name, legal form, share capital |
| Contact details | Home address, email, phone | Registered office address, email, phone |
| Host | Name, address, and phone of the host | Name, address, and phone of the host |
| Registration number | SIRET or number in the RCS/RM depending on the activity | RCS, intra-community VAT number |
For regulated activities (liberal professions, real estate agents, food trades), additional mentions are required: licensing authority, license number, reference to applicable professional rules. An association’s site must also display the name, headquarters, and purpose of the association.
Intellectual property constitutes a final aspect often overlooked. Images, illustrations, and borrowed texts must mention their source or the permission obtained. A blog that uses photographs without credit is exposed to claims distinct from those related to legal notices, but the legal notice page remains the right place to specify the applicable rights to the site’s content.
Keeping legal notices up to date after each change of status, address, or host remains the only way to ensure long-term compliance. The reference to Article 1-1 of the LCEN, the clear separation from the privacy policy, and the removal of obsolete mentions like the ODR link form the foundation of a legally solid page.
