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On 12 December 2019, the Economic and Statistical Division (Servizio Economico Statistico) of the Italian Communications Authority released the Observatory on Digital Platforms for 2019. The document provides a comprehensive overview of the value of the digital market and of the main actors operating within it. It shows the rising role of digital platforms which hold seven out of the ten top seats of the world ranking (Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Alibaba, Tencent). The research consists of four sections, devoted respectively to: general information; markets and services;...

On 11 December 2019, Judge Stefania Garrisi issued an interim order on behalf of the Rome Commercial Court enjoining the social media company Facebook Ireland Ltd to reactivate the account of the extreme right-wing movement “CasaPound Italia” and that of its administrator, Davide Di Stefano. On 9 September 2019, Facebook had closed CasaPound Italia’s account, with some 240 000 followers, as well as the accounts of some of its members and sympathisers, due to an alleged infringement of Facebook’s policy prohibiting the incitement to hatred and violence. The next day,...

On 5 November 2019, the Court of Rome, by adopting a restrictive interpretation of Italian legislation, ordered two companies to block the delivery of some commercial communications relating to electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) and liquid refills, as an urgent measure. Article 21, paragraph 10, of Legislative Decree No. 6/2016 (which implemented the EU Directive 2014/40/EU on tobacco products) provides for a ban on the advertising of e-cigs and refill liquids. Specifically, it prohibits the following activities which have the aim or the direct or indirect effect of promoting electronic cigarettes...

A variety of amendments have been introduced by Law Decree No. 59/2019, the so-called Culture Decree, which later became Law No. 81/2019 in the legal framework governing audiovisual media services in Italy (the so-called TUSMAR, that is, Legislative Decree No. 177/2005). The new legislation will come into force on 1 January 2020. The main quota provisions are summarised below; different quota obligations apply to the public service broadcaster. Content quotas for broadcasters: The content quota for broadcasters would be calculated on an annual basis and would amount to a minimum of 50.01% for European...

On 9 September 2019, the Italian Communications Authority (“AGCOM”) published resolution no. 356/19/CONS (“Resolution”) with a view to starting a procedure for identifying the existence of dominant positions or positions that are at any rate harmful to pluralism in the online advertising sector. More specifically, Article 43, para. 2 of Legislative Decree no. 177/2005 (“the TUSMAR”, or “AVMS Code”) establishes that AGCOM has the power to initiate such a procedure with the goal of verifying the existence of dominant positions (or positions that are at any rate harmful to pluralism) on the basis...