Again, an article in English, because I want this to be read by non-Romanians as well. I just heard an unbelievable and frightening piece of news, on the blog of an italian Flash coder, Emanuelle Feronato, who says it’s the end of Internet in Italy:
Ricardo Franco Levi, Prodi’s right hand man,…undersecretary to the President of the Council, has written the text to put a stopper in the mouth of the Internet.
The draft law was approved by the Council of Ministers on 12 October. No Minister dissociated themselves from it.
The Levi-Prodi law lays out that anyone with a blog or a website has to register it with the ROC, a register of the Communications Authority, produce certificates, pay a tax, even if they provide information without any intention to make money.
This means that almost all no-profit sites (or sites with a small profit) will shut down, and the few survivors will have to pay taxes and risk to be guilty of defamatory content in accordance with articles 57 and 57 bis of the penal code (JAIL).
This is a shocking piece of news, I don’t understand why it’s not the frontpage of all newspapers in the free words. Really, I can’t find any words for it; trying to restrain free Internet speech (or constrain it to a government approved list of selected ones) is a measure not even China would dare to attempt. Yet Italy seems extremely comfortable with it. And, while I don’t live in Italy, I fear other fascist governments may try to enforce such a measure on their citizens as well.
Did I say fascism? Yes, and I really mean it. I believe the Levi-Prodi law to completely match the recent surges in xenophobia, extremism and terrorist acts happening in Italy towards gipsy immigrants, reminding us all of a past when free speech was prohibited and people were killed for having a different religion, race or origin.
Last but not least, let me point you to a youtube video reminding you that freedom is not stollen all at once, but through a gradual process. And people should take a stand as early as possible, while they still have the freedom to do it.
