Abstract :
This article examines the State’s role in administering truth within both the legal and digital spheres. Drawing on historical and philosophical reflection, it traces the distinction
between reality and truth, the latter as a legal construct ascertained through evidence and proof. The State emerges as a trusted third party charged with both establishing and safeguarding truth — a function that the digital age has simultaneously reinforced and destabilised.
Analysing both French and European regulatory frameworks—the GDPR, the eIDAS Regulation and national cybersecurity directives—the paper first examines how truth
is constituted through digital identity (§ I). Within these frameworks, the State certifies the reliability of identities and secures the integrity of transactions; digital identity accordingly becomes a new dimension of public order, sustained by an evolving regime of administrative policing.
The article then turns to measures to restore truth against content manipulation (§ II), examining successive French legislative responses alongside EU instruments including
the AI Act, the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act. Further analysis unveils the tension between ambitious regulatory objectives and the limited efficacy of enforcement mechanisms, particularly against State-sponsored disinformation campaigns and AI-generated synthetic content.
The contribution ultimately situates these developments within the broader divergence over the regulation of digital content, interrogating the capacity of French and European legal frameworks to sustain the State’s truth-administering function in an era of systemic disinformation.
