One of the main objectives of the HARD DISC project is to gather and analyze the regulatory sources related to disinformation adopted by the countries involved in the research. To this purpose, HARD DISC aims to develop a comprehensive database titled “Comparative Research on Online Disinformation”, which will include all relevant legislation (such as constitutional provisions, hard law, case law, and soft law) implemented by these countries to combat online disinformation.
Article 21. Freedom of expression
The press may not be subject to authorisation or censorship.
Seizure may only be carried out by a reasoned act of the judicial authority in the case of offences, for which the law on the press expressly authorises it, or in the case of violation of the rules that the law itself prescribes for the identification of those responsible.
In such cases, when there is absolute urgency and the timely intervention of the Judicial Authority is not possible, the seizure of the periodical press may be carried out by officers of the Judicial Police, who must immediately, and never later than twenty-four hours, report the matter to the Judicial Authority. If the latter does not validate it within the following twenty-four hours, the seizure is understood to be revoked and devoid of all effect.
The law may establish, by general regulations, that the means of financing the periodical press shall be disclosed.
Printed publications, shows and all other manifestations contrary to morality are prohibited.
The law shall establish appropriate measures to prevent and suppress violationsideeplydeeply.
Available online at Italian Constitution.
Eu law and its implementation
- Digital Services Act (DSA) – Regulation no. 2065/2022.
Directly applicable in Member States. Available online at Regulation no. 2065/2022.
- Directive on Electronic Commerce – Directive 2000/31 implemented by Legislative Decree No. 70/2003.
The law marks a distinction between mere conduit provider (Art. 14); caching provider (Art. 15); hosting provider (Art. 16). Articles 14(3), 15(2), 16(3) provided that “The competent judicial authority or administrative authority may require, even as a matter of urgency, that the provider, in the course of its activities, prevent or put an end to the violations committed”. Article 17, titled “Absence of a general obligation to supervise,” provided that “In the provision of the services referred to in Articles 14, 15 and 16, the provider is not subject to a general obligation to supervise the information it transmits or stores, nor to a general obligation to actively seek facts or circumstances indicating the presence of illegal activities. The principle is tempered by the provision, in the second paragraph, of a “duty to cooperate with the public authority”. These articles were repealed by Legislative Decree n. 50/2024 art. 3 co. 4.No specific national replacement rules have been introduced. Therefore, the Digital Service Act (Regulation no. 2065/2022) becomes the main reference for regulating this matter (specifically articles 4,5,6,8,9), applying its provisions directly in Italy. Available online at Legislative Decree no. 70/2003.
- Audiovisual Media Services Directive – Directive No. 2018/1808, amending Directive 2010/13/EU(AVMSD), implemented by Legislative Decree no. 208/ 2021.
Art. 41 par. 6 provides that Articles 3, 4, 5 and 14, 15,16, 17 of Legislative Decree No. 70/2003 apply to providers of video-sharing platforms established in Italy. Art. 42 lists for providers of video-sharing platforms appropriate measures to protect minors and the general public from programs and videos that incite violence and hatred and include contents which constitutes a crime under the law in force in the member states of the European Union. Available online at Legislative Decree no. 208/2021 .
- Artificial Intelligence Act – Regulation (EU) 2024/1689.
Art. 50 Transparency obligations for providers and deployers of certain AI systems includes obligations for tackling disinformation through AI. Directly applicable in Member States. Available online at Artificial Intelligence Act .
- Regulation (EU) 2024/900 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising.
Directly applicable in Member States. Available online at Regulation (EU) 2024/900.
- The Code of Conduct on Disinformation – February 13, 2025.
The Code of Conduct aims to combat disinformation risks while fully upholding the freedom of speech and enhancing transparency under the Digital Services Act (DSA). Available online at The Code of Conduct on Disinformation .
Legislative acts
- Law no. 28/2000 – Provisions for equal access to the media during election and referendum campaigns and for political communication.
Article 5 The Commission and the Authority, after consulting each other and within their respective competences, shall define, no later than the fifth day following the calling of the electoral campaign, the specific criteria that the public broadcaster and private radio and television broadcasters must adhere to in their informational programs until the conclusion of the voting operations. This is to ensure equal treatment, objectivity, completeness, and impartiality of information.
Article 11 quater. Local radio and television broadcasters must guarantee pluralism through equal treatment, objectivity, impartiality, and fairness in the transmission of both informational programs, respecting the freedom of information, and political communication programs. Available online at Law no. 28/2000.
- Law no. 93/2023 – Provisions for the prevention and repression of the illicit dissemination of copyrighted content through electronic communication networks.
Article 2 Urgent and precautionary measures by the Authority for Communications Guarantees for disabling access to unlawfully distributed content. See specifically Paragraph 1. The Authority for Communications Guarantees, hereinafter referred to as the “Authority,” by its own measure, orders service providers, including network access providers, to disable access to content distributed unlawfully by blocking DNS resolution of domain names and blocking network traffic routing toward IP addresses primarily used for illegal activities. See also paragraph 3. In cases of severity and urgency involving the provision of live transmitted content, first releases of cinematographic and audiovisual works or entertainment programs, audiovisual content, including sports, or other similar works, sporting events, as well as events of social interest or of great importance, with a precautionary measure adopted through an abbreviated procedure without a hearing, the Authority orders service providers, including network access providers, as well as VPN service providers and publicly available DNS providers, regardless of their residence or location, to disable access to unlawfully distributed content by blocking domain names and IP addresses in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article. Available online at Law no. 93/2023.
- Law no. 47/1948 – Press Law.
Article 13. In the case of defamation committed through the press, consisting of attributing a specific fact, the penalty of imprisonment from one to six years applies, along with a fine of not less than one hundred thousand lire. Available online at Law no. 47/1948.
- Italian Penal Code.
In the Italian legal system, the dissemination of fake news does not acquire criminal relevance in itself. Anyway, it can be considered as a criminal act when it causes offense to interests protected by criminal law. The criminal figures that most frequently may acquire criminal relevance with respect to online disinformation are:
- Art. 595 c.p. Defamation. A person is punished when the dissemination of false news results in unlawful injury to the individual honor of others.
- Article 57 c.p. Editor’s responsibility. It punishes, by way of negligence, the editor who fails to exercise over the content of the periodical the control necessary to prevent the commission of crimes through the publication. In accordance with the Italian Supreme Court, article 57 c.p. applies to the editor of the online newspaper.
- Article 656 c.p. Publication or dissemination of false, exaggerated or tendentious news, likely to disturb public order.
- Article 658 c.p. Procuring Alarm to the Authority. It punishes anyone who, by announcing disasters, accidents or non-existent dangers, causes alarm to the authority or to entities or persons exercising a public service.
- Art. 501 c.p. Market rigging. The dissemination of false information is likely to cause an alteration in the price of goods or financial instruments
- Art. 294 c.p. Attempts against the political rights of the citizen. It punishes anyone who by violence, threat or deception prevents in whole or in part the exercise of a political right, or determines someone to exercise it in a manner contrary to his will
Available online at Italian Penal Code.
- Italian Civil Code.
In civil law, the dissemination of false information in the context of a disinformation action does not acquire independent relevance; however, it may assume relevance under Article 2043 of the Civil Code on the subject of liability for torts. In particular, the activity or information should be considered unlawful whenever it wilfully or negligently causes unjust damage to third parties.
Available online at Italian Civile Code.
Subordinate acts
- Minister of Communications Decree of April 8, 2004 – Self-Regulation Code on the Implementation of the Principle of Pluralism.
The self-regulation code contains provisions regarding informational programs and political communication programs on local radio and television broadcasters, in implementation of the principles set forth in Law No. 28 of February 22, 2000. See specifically Article 4 , according to which in their information programs, local radio and television broadcasters must ensure pluralism through equal treatment, objectivity, impartiality, and fairnes. Available online at Minister of Communications Decree.
- AGCOM resolution no. 299 /22/CONS – Implementation provisions on the correct application of the rules on political communication and equal access to the media information relating to the campaigns for the elections to the chamber of deputies and the senate of republic called for September 25, 2022.
Art. 7 para 2. During the validity period of this resolution, radiotelevision information activities must ensure the electorate the broadest possible information on the themes and modalities of the electoral campaign, avoiding, even indirectly, creating situations of advantage or disadvantage for certain political forces. Available onlineAGCOM resolution no. 299/22/CONS.
- Constitutional Court, 16th of March 1962, no. 19.
Tendentious news, relevant to Article 656 of the Criminal Code (publication or dissemination of false, exaggerated or tendentious news, capable of disturbing public order) are “those which, while reporting things that are true, nevertheless present them (no matter whether intentionally or not) in such a way that those who learn them may have an altered representation of reality), with the consequence that they are not distinguished from false news, resulting in any case in a distortion of the truth.
- Penal Supreme Court 28th April 2015, no. 24431.
The publication of personal offenses on both web articles and social networks integrates the aggravating circumstance of using any other means of publicity other than the press, referred to in Article 595, Paragraph III, of the Criminal Code, as potentially capable of reaching an indeterminate or otherwise quantitatively appreciable number of people.
- Penal Supreme Court, 23rd October 2018, no. 1275.
The Supreme Court recognized liability for failure to supervise on the part of the editor of an online newspaper.
- Penal Supreme Court, 17th December 2013, no. 5107.
The Court excludes liability of Internet Service Providers for failure to provide prior and general control over information hosted, transmitted or stored.
- Civil Supreme Court, 8th June 2022, no. 18430.
The hosting service provider is liable, with regard to the content of the information, under Article 16 of Legislative Decree No. 70 of 2003 when it has actual knowledge that the activity or information is unlawful and when it is aware of facts or circumstances that make manifest the unlawfulness of the activity or information. The provider, therefore, is liable for omissive activity if duly informed of the falsity of published content whose elimination is requested, it fails to do so promptly.
- Unified Text of the Duties of the Journalist.
Title 3 specifies the duties of the journalist regarding the need to ensure correct information for citizens. Available online at Unified Text of the Duties of the Journalist.
- AGCOM, Technical Report. Online disinformation strategies and the supply chain of fake content, November 9, 2018.
The AGCOM report analyzes online information disorders, focusing on disinformation as false and malicious content massively spread for economic or political-ideological purposes. Available online at AGCOM Technical Report.
- AGCOM, Exploratory Study on Digital Platforms and the Information System, June 6, 2024.
The analysis is focused on the demand for information and misinformation, the cognitive mechanisms that influence the decision-making processes underlying information consumption, and how perceptions of phenomena and other elements characterizing the individual and the context around him or her fit into these processes. At the close of the Survey, the Authority defined lines of action. Available online at AGCOM Exploratory Study .
- ACGOM, Guidelines for equal access to online platforms during the 2018 general election campaign.
The guidelines aim to ensure for all political actors, with impartiality and fairness and under
the same conditions, access to the political information and communication tools
provided by digital platforms (Google and Facebook, in particular). See specifically paragraph 3. Particularly urgent is the need to share methods of using the existing tools in accordance with current regulations, in order to ensure timely intervention in case of the dissemination of messages or video messages that violate the law, such as, for example, messages with illegal content, messages that harm the honor and reputation of other candidates, or messages that, through fabricated montages of interventions or statements by an individual, attribute false information or positions that are not true. Available online at AGCOM Guidelines for equal access to online platforms .
- Legislative proposals.
Several bills have been proposed in the past to address the fight against fake news, including the “Gambaro” bill, the “Zanda-Filippin” bill, and the “Di Girolamo” bill. Additionally, there was a request to establish a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the widespread dissemination of false information. However, these proposals have not been approved and there are currently no public policies specifically dedicated to combating online disinformation.
- The Gambaro bill proposed the introduction in Art. 656 bis of the Criminal Code of the crime of Publication or dissemination of false, exaggerated or tendentious news, likely to disturb public order, through computer platforms. It also called for the introduction of two new crimes against the personality of the state, to be included in Article 265 bis 217 and Article 265 ter of the Criminal Code. Available online at Gambaro Bill.
- The “Zanda-Filippin” bill proposed to introduce forms of administrative responsability for social network service providers, providing control on social network operators. With reference to the unlawful nature of the content, the bill referred to content constituting certain crimes against the person, against the personality of the state, against public order and against property. Available online at Zanda Filippin Bill.
- The “Di Girolamo” bill introduced the ban on anonymous use of the internet and provisions regarding the protection of the right to be forgotten. Available online at Di Girolamo Bill.
- The Proposal for the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the widespread dissemination of false information was aimed at combating the publication and circulation of contents that represent crimes against the person and certain other serious offenses defined as “crimes against the Republic”. Available online at Proposal for the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the widespread dissemination of false information.