<nettime> webzine national censorship in Italy

[Alessandro Ludovico <a.ludovico {AT} agora.stm.it>]

Yesterday a liberticide law has been approved by the Italian Parliament.

The law clearly state that the publishers of periodical news on the 
web who are not 'professional' journalists (or write on behalf of 
them) could be fined for up to 250 dollars and arrested for up to two 
years, and accused of the 'clandestine press' crime.

Under the big publishers' lobby pressure they applied the same old 
rules for the printed press to the web.

A professional journalist is a journalist that is registered in the 
National Order of Journalists (Ordine Nazionale dei Giornalisti). In 
order to be registered you have to take an exam with a National 
Order's members commission.

Today lots of Italian indipendent webzine publishers, frightened by 
the announcement, announced to stop the activity.

By now one of the major tech-zine is promoting a national petition 
against this senseless law.

In the Italian Constitution is clearly written:
"Everyone has the right to freely express his thoughts with spoken 
words, press and any other medium".

-- 


Alessandro Ludovico
Neural Online - http://www.neural.it/
Suoni Futuri Digitali - http://www.apogeonline.com/catalogo/614.html

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