Legal Commentary

Proposed Italian Law Would Effectively Shut Down Most Blogs

By Professor University of Miami School of Law

Beppe Grillo — a writer who is new to me — warns of The Levi-Prodi law and the end of the Internet:

Ricardo Franco Levi, Prodi’s right hand man, undersecretary to the President of the Council, has written the text to put a stopper in the mouth of the Internet. The draft law was approved by the Council of Ministers on 12 October. No Minister dissociated themselves from it. On gagging information, very quietly, these are all in agreement.

The Levi-Prodi law lays out that anyone with a blog or a website has to register it with the ROC, a register of the Communications Authority, produce certificates, pay a tax, even if they provide information without any intention to make money.

As Grillo writes, the law, were it to be passed by the Italian Parliament, would set up conditions so onerous that most bloggers would just shut down.

I have some doubts that such a rule would be consistent with either Italy’s obligations to the EU or especially to the ECHR, but I don’t know either body of law well enough to be sure.

Maybe Robert Waldmann knows more about the Italian politics behind this, and whether the bill has any realistic prospects of enactment?

Addendum: Not that Wikipedia is the most reliable source, but this entry for Beppe Grillo is certainly colorful.

Full post as published by Discourse.net on March 06, 2008 (boomark / email).