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On 31 August 2021, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered two judgments dealing with political pluralism in programmes broadcast by Radio Televisione Italiana (the Italian state radio and television service — RAI). In both cases, the ECtHR emphasised the need for pluralism in news and current affairs programmes, and in political platform programmes offered by the public broadcaster. In the first case (Associazione Politica Nazionale Lista Marco Pannella and Radicali Italiani v. Italy), the ECtHR found no violation of the right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article...

On 22 July 2021 the Italian Communications Authority (AGCOM) adopted Resolution No. 233/21/CONS, which contains significant amendments to the regulation on copyright enforcement online approved via Resolution No. 680/13/CONS (hereinafter, the ‘Regulation’). Said modifications reflect both regulatory and technical developments occurred over the last years, as a result of the emerging challenges that digital technologies have posed to copyright protection. The changes mainly concern two key aspects, that is the extension of the subjective scope of application of the Regulation, and...

With the decisions No. 209/21/CONS and 210/21/CONS published on 28 June and decisions No. 234/21/CONS and 235/21/CONS published on 30 July 2021, AGCOM concluded four proceedings about the respect for pluralism by companies operating in the media and electronic communications sectors. The proceedings were initiated pursuant to Article 4-bis, paragraph 1, of the Legislative Decree No. 125 of 7 October 2020, the rule which aims to avoid that the presence of the same company in the electronic communications and media sectors, given the convergence between the two fields, could have a distorting...

On 18 June 2021, the Lazio Administrative Court (TAR Lazio, section III) ruled on a request lodged by an Italian lawyer against RAI, concerning the access to some documents related to a journalistic investigation carried out by “Report”, a popular TV show on RAI 3. According to the applicant, the investigation shed a negative light on his professional activities, depicting him as the person behind the unclear management of public funding by some local public bodies and some of their advisors. Therefore, he asked RAI to be granted access to the documents on which the investigation...

With the decision No. 160/21/CONS published on 7 June 2021, the Italian Authority for Communications (Agcom) launched a public consultation on the parental control system in the electronic communication field, pursuant Article No. 7-bis entitled “Protection system for minors from the risk of cyberspace”, provided by the Law Decree No. 28 of 30 April 2021. The abovementioned rule lays down that the electronic communication supply contracts – including television operators - must provide free and “activated by default” parental control systems, able to filter inappropriate...