Arcep’s third 2026 activity report reviews work carried out in 2025 on the functioning of the internet, opening digital ecosystems and reducing the environmental footprint of digital technology. Arcep has published annual reports on the state of the internet in France since 2017.
The 2026 digital barometer says 94% of French people use the internet and 84% use it every day. Arcep says connectivity for everyone is a strategic objective, and it treats the proper functioning of the internet as the first condition for users to access the content and services they choose.
Interconnection and IPv6 stay at the core
Arcep monitors the health of interconnections between internet players and the adoption of IPv6. The authority also says the open internet regulation has guaranteed an internet connection free of unjustified access restrictions to certain services or content for ten years.
That leaves Arcep watching both the network layer and the access layer. It also says a proposal for a Digital Networks Act is under discussion at European level.
Brussels keeps the platform layer in view
Arcep says it has worked for several years at European level to correct competitive imbalances created by large platforms. It also says the Digital Markets Act has been in force since 2023.
The authority says it also works to promote greater choice of cloud services and to support data-driven innovation. The report includes contributions from CNMC, ECTA, Cigref, Wikimedia, researchers Anne-Laure Ligozat and Annaëlle Beignon, the CERRE and ecodesign expert Laurent Devernay.
Generative AI now sits inside the internet policy debate
Since late 2023, the rise of generative artificial intelligence has profoundly changed access to content, services and information. In 2025, one in two people said they had already used a generative artificial intelligence tool, and 85% of 18- to 24-year-olds said the same.
Arcep says generative AI is becoming a new gateway to the internet and can influence content visibility, competition conditions and user choice. The report also says 84% of AI models are accompanied by no environmental information.
AI’s environmental bill remains poorly documented
Arcep says information on the environmental impact of generative artificial intelligence remains very limited, partly because of a lack of transparency from actors. It says the rapid growth of generative AI use implies greater use of data centers, whose capacity must keep adapting to rapidly increasing computing loads.
Arcep says this could significantly increase the carbon impact of digital technology. It also says market dynamics risk increasing pressure on electricity, computing power and data, and that better environmental transparency and eco-design are needed to keep AI development within planetary limits.
What this means for cloud and AI infrastructure teams
For cloud and AI infrastructure teams, the report is a reminder that Arcep is treating capacity, transparency and access rules as linked issues rather than separate debates. The regulator says it also works to promote greater choice of cloud services, while it continues to tie AI development to environmental transparency and eco-design.