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Romani decree would require licence to upload

A proposed law on digital piracy submitted to the Italian Parliament earlier this year could have serious impact on freedom of expression online.

The law, which bears the signature of Paolo Romani, vice minister of communications for the Berlusconi government, calls for measures that would allow government control of audiovisual content on the web.

In particular, the decree would force anyone wanting to upload videos to the Internet – be they single users or professional publishers – to seek a licence from the Ministry of Communication. Individual users, private citizens, would when uploading videos be equated under the new law with a television station… with all the legal obligations implied.

The new rules would require the removal of content the government says violates Italian copyright.

Linked to EU Directive 2007/65/EC for the regulation of audiovisual services, the legislative decree in practice gives the government unlimited power to implement new measures to protect copyright. It would give direct responsibilities, currently unspecified in legal code, to platforms such as Google Video or Vimeo.

One of the first effects of the decree, according to prominent blogger, lawyer and professor Guido Scorza, would be to promote the victory of Mediaset in the cases pending against YouTube.

Since 2006, Mediaset, the television company controlled by the family of Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, has repeatedly taken Youtube to court for infringement of copyright.

The scenario that would be created if the Romani decree is confirmed would be disastrous for video blogs and sharing platforms; these would need to radically change their services in Italy. Or, at worst, move beyond Italian borders.

It is highly likely that the Italian Parliament would confirm the proposed law. In Italy, the television system is greatly influenced by political choices. The government could also ride the wave of outcry over the condemnation of the Milan Court finding against three former executives of Google in a cause of invasion of privacy. News of the sentence has travelled the world.

The Romani decree, under the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive, will probably have the support of the governing majority. The government has previously passed several laws that please the interests of the Premier, a publisher and owner of television stations.

Several groups support the project: SIAE, the Italian Society of Authors and Writers, which appears listed as one of the authors of the document, and the Italian Music Industry Federation (FIMI).

The opposition at this time does not seem likely to have enough Parliament votes to counter the government. Reactions to the publication of the proposed decree were lukewarm.

One of the few to make a statement was the former minister for communications and communication manager of the Democratic Party, Paolo Gentiloni.

“This decree is a gift to Mediaset, we suspect that the maneuver aims at curbing the supply of web video, since the government has a personal interest in supporting the private television.”

An obstacle to the approval of the decree could only come from the European Parliament, which a few months ago rejected the so-called “Sarkozy doctrine.”

Marco Pancini of Google Italy said he hopes the EU will reject the law.

“If the decree were to be approved it will stir much controversy, not to mention that it violates European legislation,” he told Italian newspaper La Stampa.

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Flickr images from users piazza del popolo, fensterbme, Ed Yourdon

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