ITALY: New internet censorship
Topic
Country/Region
01 March 2001
A new law (62/2001) passed in Italy by the Constitutional Affairs Commission on 21 February was published in the official journal (Gazzetta Ufficiale) on 7 March 2001. It makes internet sites subject to Italy's stringent press laws, effectively preventing people who are not “professional journalists” from posting information on websites. This contradicts constitutional guarantees applying to freedom of expression: “Everyone has the right to freely express their thought orally, in writing and any other means of distribution”, and press freedom: “The press cannot be subject to authorisation or censorship”. By redefining an “information publishing site” as an “editorial product” like newspapers and magazines, regulations and sanctions are introduced.
Websites carrying information regularly are to be registered with competent government offices (the local tribunal), as envisaged in Article 5 of the 1948 press law. The documents required to register include “a declaration carrying the authenticated signatures of the owner and the director, or a responsible deputy director which includes their name and residence, and the person running the news business, if it is a different person from the owner, as well as the title and nature of the publication”. Also required are “documents proving the possession of the requirements indicated in articles 3 and 4” (having a director who is responsible for the publication, and an owner who is Italian and on the electoral register), “a document to certify membership of the order of journalists”, and a copy of the publication's constitution or statute. Failure to register can be sanctioned with up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 500,000 Lire (£160) under Article 16 of the 1948 Press Law (Legge sulla Stampa) dealing with “illegal press” (Stampa clandestina). Service providers are likely to take on a controlling function in view of their liability to an administrative sanction of between Lire 200,000 and Lire 1,200,000 if they play any part in the distribution of illegal press.
Punto Informatico, a magazine dealing with IT issues, has launched a petition to oppose the new law, collecting signatures which will be presented to parliament after the May election. “The Net and the Web”, it reads, “represent two instruments for the distribution of ideas and information which are totally innovative, and instead of facilitating its development, this law imposes obligations and registrations which are totally incompatible with the technical and libertarian nature of electronic communication.” The petition has so far been signed by 45,000 people and received support from some members of the Socialisti Democratici Italiani (SDI) and Greens.
The Italian National Press Federation secretary Paolo Serventi Longhi supported the law. He was quoted as saying: “This puts an end, at least in Italy, to the absurd anarchy which allows anyone to publish information online without rules and controls, and guarantees to the citizen/user that minimum quality standards will apply to all information”. Nonetheless, professional journalists from the www.vita.it site have reportedly offered to take responsibility for other websites until the law is repealed. Professional journalists are members of the Ordine Nazionale dei Giornalisti (ONG, National Order of Journalists) who must undergo an examination and pay fees to the guild association to be officially recognised. Rifondazione Comunista leader Fausto Bertinotti pronounced himself in favour of the ONG's abolition and called the measure a “threat to liberties”.
Legge 7 marzo 2001, no 62 “Nuove norme sull'editoria e sui prodotti editoriali e modifiche alla legge 5 agosto 1981, no 416, Punto Informatico, www.punto-informatico.it “Speciale/Italia, ufficiale la censura su Internet; Legge sulla Stampa, no 47, 8.2.1948.