Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has recently called upon the Italian government to make alterations to their suggested reforms to defamation legislation, so that they are congruous with European and international law. Notably, this follows just days after the unveiling of amendments to the impending legislation that potentially incorporated clauses about a ban on working as a journalist, and escalated fines.
RSF criticised
the Italian defamation law reform bill for its “strongly disproportionate sanction,” deem it as necessary to align it with the directives of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. On April 5th, the Committee passed a recommendation instructing member nations to develop “comprehensive and effective” strategies to thwart Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation (SLAAPs), a requirement that RSF argues Italy’s defamation law should heed.
The legislative reform by Italy was originally introduced in 2023 as a measure to align Italy with a Constitutional Court decision which declared the six-year defamation prison sentence as unconstitutional. This baseline reform, suggested by Senator Alberto Balboni, a member of Fratelli d’Italia, the primary party in the ruling coalition, proposed to reduce the prison sentence to 4 years. Moreover, the suggestions incorporated further amendments potentially leading to a work ban on journalists that could extend up to six months. RSF expressed severe condemnation of this provision, flagging it for its potential encroachment on the European Convention on Human Rights, with the justification that “journalism is just the professional exercise of a fundamental freedom, the freedom of expression, it cannot be the subject of a priori prohibitions.”
Pavol Szalai, the Head of RSF’s European Union and Balkans desk, pressed the Italian government to respect European standards, with his statement, “The right to defend oneself against defamation is a legitimate one, but it must not muzzle press freedom. The preservation of anti-constitutional prison sentences for this offense is absolutely unacceptable. As for the ban on working as a journalist included in the reform of the defamation law, it is not only disproportionate but also contrary to the recommendations for combating SLAPPs made by the Council of Europe and European Union.” This renewed focus on press freedom and freedom of expression have cast international attention onto Italy’s ongoing legislative reforms. More updates can be found on the JURIST’s website.