Italy: Popular Social Media Accounts To Be Treated As Publishers, Face “Misinformation,” “Hate Speech” Restrictions

If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. In what can be seen as an open clampdown against the freedoms and rights of social media influencers, the Italian Regulatory Authority of Telecommunications (AGCOM) has announced that people with a following exceeding 1,000,000 will now be legally considered as “producers of audio-visual content” within the law, placing them on the same legal footing as publishers. This drastic change was revealed in the aftermath of an investigation conducted into Chiara Ferragni, a notable adversary of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Italy’s most prominent social media influencer, regarding alleged fraudulent activities tied to a holiday cake charity event. An investigation ensued after customers were allegedly misled into thinking their purchase of a pandoro cake, promoted by Ferragni and made by the Piedmont company Balocco, contributed to a Turin hospital’s charity. Investigations for severe fraud are underway against both Ferragni and Alessandra Balocco, the company’s chief. Additionally, Balocco faced a €420,000 ($459,841) penalty from the competition regulator for deceptive practices. Prior to the campaign, Balocco donated €50,000 ($54,000) to the hospital but did not contribute any more funds. Sales of the cake, endorsed by Ferragni, reportedly generated £1 million. Despite already being in development prior to the situation, the timing of these new laws aimed at treating those with large followings as publishers has raised eyebrows, as they mainly target noted influencers of Ferragni’s nature and are now open to regulatory scrutiny. Currently, influencers within Europe…Italy: Popular Social Media Accounts To Be Treated As Publishers, Face “Misinformation,” “Hate Speech” Restrictions