Italy, the country which gave Europe its roads, cement, main religion, and Fiat pandas, is drawing up an internet bill of rights.
This might seem ironic coming from the country whose internet is like something which came out of an Ancient Roman sewer, but it is probably a set in the right direction.
Italy has produced a draft Declaration of Internet Rights, thanks to the initiative of the presidency of the Chamber of Deputies, a dedicated Committee of experts and members of the Parliament from the Committee on Internet Rights and Duties. The bill aims to inform the debate about online civil liberties and fundamental freedoms during the Italian semester of the European Union presidency, just like the Brazilian “Marco Civil” did globally last April, when it was passed into law.
Introduced to the public and to European deputies on October 12 to 13, the initiative has been published in Italian, English, and French with the understanding that the many questions related to access and use of the Internet go well beyond national borders.
Topics range from the “fundamental right to Internet access” and Net Neutrality to the notion of “informational self-determination.” The bill also includes provisions on the right to anonymity and tackles the highly debated idea of granting online citizens a “right to be forgotten.” Measures are taken against algorithmic discriminations and the opacity of the terms of service devised by “digital platform operators” who are “required to behave honestly and fairly” and, most of all, give “clear and simple information on how the platform operates.”
Former head of the Italian privacy authority Stefano Rodotà has been a long-time advocate of a “Magna Carta” for the networked society, and he now has a leading role in the effort to create one in Italy.
The text is not perfect, and that is why it will be open to consultation. Some critics argued that the idea of an Internet Bill of Rights stems from a paternalistic, anti-market “socialist” way of thinking about the regulation of the digital ecosystem.
