Italy

[IT] AGCOM grants trusted flagger status to an organization specialised in the protection of minors

IRIS 2025-5:1/10

Francesco Di Giorgi

Autorità per le garanzie nelle comunicazioni (AGCOM)

The pool of entities recognised as trusted flaggers under Article 22 of the Digital Services Act (DSA) continues to expand. These entities are designated to support online platforms in identifying and countering the dissemination of illegal content, by virtue of their specific expertise and capabilities.

In its capacity as the Digital Services Coordinator for Italy, AGCOM (the Italian Communications Authority) officially granted trusted flagger status on 8 April to the S.O.S Il Telefono Azzurro Foundation ETS (Telefono Azzurro Foundation), with particular reference to the 0–18 age group. The designation covers various areas of concern, including violations of data protection and privacy, non-consensual sharing of material, cyberbullying and online harassment, sexually explicit or pornographic content, breaches of child protection laws, incitement to self-harm, and criminal or violent acts.

The Telefono Azzurro Foundation is a non-profit organisation committed to safeguarding children and adolescents from abuse and violence, both in the physical world and in the digital environment.

Through Resolution No. 91/25/CONS, AGCOM awarded this status for a three-year term, following a comprehensive assessment of compliance with the criteria set out in Article 22(2) of the DSA. These include:
(a) possessing specialist knowledge and competence in detecting, identifying, and reporting illegal content;
(b) maintaining independence from online platform providers; and
(c) carrying out reporting activities diligently, accurately, and objectively.

The Telefono Azzurro Foundation demonstrated that it meets all these criteria, showing its capacity to act independently and effectively in identifying and notifying illegal content in a manner aligned with the obligations of a trusted flagger.

The trusted flagger role is pivotal to the implementation of the DSA across EU member states. It enables the activation of the notice-and-action mechanism laid out in Article 16 of the regulation, which mandates online platforms to handle such notices with priority and without undue delay.

Trusted flaggers are also required to submit and publicly disclose an annual report to AGCOM. This report must be clear, detailed, and include a description of the procedures used to ensure the ongoing independence of the organisation.

AGCOM retains the authority to review, either ex officio or upon notification, whether the organisation continues to meet the necessary requirements. This review process may also take into account the guidelines issued by the European Commission pursuant to Article 22(8) of the DSA.