Publishing, from the Chamber first yes to the online anti-piracy text: prison up to 3 years

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The first unanimous go-ahead from the Chamber of Deputies arrives for the provisions for the prevention and repression of the illicit dissemination of content protected by copyright via electronic communication networks. The text, approved in Montecitorio with 252 votes in favor and none against, now goes to the Senate.

The protection of intellectual property

The provision gives the State the task of recognizing, protecting and promoting intellectual property in all its forms, as a tool to stimulate innovation, creativity, investment and the production of cultural content, including digital content. The State will therefore have to protect copyright from any violation and from any illicit act, including those perpetrated through the use of electronic communication networks.

It ensures companies, authors, artists and creators adequate forms of support, including economic ones, to facilitate the production, translation and internationalization of intellectual works, provides forms of accountability towards network intermediaries, to make activities to combat the illicit dissemination and counterfeiting of content protected by copyright are more effective.

There is therefore the safeguarding of the rights to the secrecy of communications, also through the maintenance of the integrity and security of the electronic communication networks, and to the freedom of economic initiative and its exercise in a competitive regime, and the implementation of policies aimed at promoting freedom of expression and information, cultural and linguistic diversity and pluralism of the media, in compliance with the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons, guaranteed by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and fundamental freedoms and the general principles of European Union law.

The powers of Agcom: blocking of live broadcasts

The Communications Regulatory Authority (Agcom) will have the power to order service providers to disable access to illegally disseminated content, including by adopting urgent precautionary measures. This through access to illicit content by blocking DNS resolution of domain names and blocking the routing of network traffic to IP addresses uniquely intended for illicit activities. In the case of content broadcast live, the measure is adopted, notified and executed before the start or, at the latest, during the broadcast itself.