must be licensed businesses in Italy and are required to pay an initial fee of EUR 2,500
to the registry. This fee includes start-up costs for the first year and 60 domain names,
with invoices for additional domain names sent separately. 28
Internet Surveillance
A July 2002 EU directive instructs ISPs and telephone companies to temporarily retain
all records of user activity and make these available to legal bodies, to the extent that
doing so ‘‘constitutes a necessary, appropriate and proportionate measure within a
democratic society to safeguard national security (i.e., State security), defense, public
security, and the prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of criminal
offences or of unauthorized use of the electronic communication system.’’ 29
As part of a set of antiterrorism measures passed in July 2005, the Italian government
authorized Internet and telephone network surveillance. 30 The bill requires Internet
cafe ´s to keep photocopies of customers’ passports and to submit periodically logs of
all Web sites visited to police headquarters. 31 The law also raises licensing requirements
for telecommunication service operators, making licensing approval dependent upon
the existence of satisfactory data-monitoring and retention systems. 32 In addition, the
bill calls for the compilation of a list of all of Italy’s cell telephone users. 33
Public reaction to the bill has come mostly from business owners, who complain
that complying with the new regulations is expensive and cumbersome. 34 Several
Internet cafe ´ managers have seen drops in business, primarily from foreign customers
who have forgotten their passports or who are unaware of the identification requirement. 35 Most Internet users seem to view the bill as innocuous, perhaps because Internet cafe ´s cater more to tourists than to Italian citizens. A bill requiring ISPs to monitor
Internet activity and to store user data for five years, which would have affected all
users, failed to pass in 2003 after protests by activists and opposition parties. 36
ONI Testing Results
The OpenNet Initiative completed testing on four Italian ISPs: iNet, 37 Infostrada, 38
Telecom Italia, 39 and Tiscali, 40 and was able to confirm that one gambling site,
partypoker.com, is blocked by Telecom Italia and Tiscali. The ONI was unable to confirm with certainty that the other ISPs have also blocked the Web site.
Conclusion
Although Italy has regulations in place to prohibit access to Web sites within certain
categories, access to the Internet remains relatively free apart from limited filtering,
particularly of gambling sites. However, the potential passage of the Levi-Prodi law is
a cause for concern, as are the government’s efforts to increase Internet surveillance.
Italy
321
to the registry. This fee includes start-up costs for the first year and 60 domain names,
with invoices for additional domain names sent separately. 28
Internet Surveillance
A July 2002 EU directive instructs ISPs and telephone companies to temporarily retain
all records of user activity and make these available to legal bodies, to the extent that
doing so ‘‘constitutes a necessary, appropriate and proportionate measure within a
democratic society to safeguard national security (i.e., State security), defense, public
security, and the prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of criminal
offences or of unauthorized use of the electronic communication system.’’ 29
As part of a set of antiterrorism measures passed in July 2005, the Italian government
authorized Internet and telephone network surveillance. 30 The bill requires Internet
cafe ´s to keep photocopies of customers’ passports and to submit periodically logs of
all Web sites visited to police headquarters. 31 The law also raises licensing requirements
for telecommunication service operators, making licensing approval dependent upon
the existence of satisfactory data-monitoring and retention systems. 32 In addition, the
bill calls for the compilation of a list of all of Italy’s cell telephone users. 33
Public reaction to the bill has come mostly from business owners, who complain
that complying with the new regulations is expensive and cumbersome. 34 Several
Internet cafe ´ managers have seen drops in business, primarily from foreign customers
who have forgotten their passports or who are unaware of the identification requirement. 35 Most Internet users seem to view the bill as innocuous, perhaps because Internet cafe ´s cater more to tourists than to Italian citizens. A bill requiring ISPs to monitor
Internet activity and to store user data for five years, which would have affected all
users, failed to pass in 2003 after protests by activists and opposition parties. 36
ONI Testing Results
The OpenNet Initiative completed testing on four Italian ISPs: iNet, 37 Infostrada, 38
Telecom Italia, 39 and Tiscali, 40 and was able to confirm that one gambling site,
partypoker.com, is blocked by Telecom Italia and Tiscali. The ONI was unable to confirm with certainty that the other ISPs have also blocked the Web site.
Conclusion
Although Italy has regulations in place to prohibit access to Web sites within certain
categories, access to the Internet remains relatively free apart from limited filtering,
particularly of gambling sites. However, the potential passage of the Levi-Prodi law is
a cause for concern, as are the government’s efforts to increase Internet surveillance.
Italy
321