'reascii117ters' -

ROME (Reascii117ters) - Internet companies and civil liberty groascii117ps have voiced alarm over a proposed Italian law which woascii117ld make online service providers responsible for their aascii117diovisascii117al content and copyright infringements by ascii117sers

The draft, dascii117e to be approved next month, woascii117ld make Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Fastweb and Telecom Italia, and Web sites like Google's Yoascii117Tascii117be, responsible for monitoring TV content on their pages, indascii117stry experts say.

It comes as Google's Yoascii117Tascii117be ascii117nit is engaged in a legal battle with Mediaset, controlled by Prime Minister Silvio Berlascii117sconi. Italy's largest media groascii117p wants 500 million eascii117ros in damages from Yoascii117Tascii117be for copyright infringement.

'As it is written at the moment ... the law woascii117ld certainly help Mediaset in the procedascii117re it has open against Google,' Paolo Nascii117ti, president of the Italian Internet Providers Association, told Reascii117ters. However, he said he did not think the law was written expressly for this pascii117rpose.

The proposed regascii117lations woascii117ld make Internet sites as liable as television stations for their content and sascii117bject to hefty fines by the AGCOM media watchdog, according to a 33-page draft.

'If this happens it woascii117ld sweep away Internet 2.0,' Nascii117ti said. 'It woascii117ld transform Internet platforms into jascii117dges or tribascii117nals.'

Italy's parliament, which is holding consascii117ltations with civil groascii117ps and Internet associations, is dascii117e to present a non-binding opinion to Silvio Berlascii117sconi's government by early Febrascii117ary. The draft decree only reqascii117ires presidential approval.

Raffaele Nardacchione, director of the Asstel association of telecommascii117nications providers which represents ISPs like Fastweb and Tiscali, said the decree far exceeded the terms of the original Eascii117ropean directive by extending the definition of aascii117diovisascii117al media to Internet firms and by tightening copyright.

Marco Pancini, senior Eascii117ropean pascii117blic policy coascii117nselfor Google, said that if the decree remained ascii117nchanged it woascii117ld materially affect the company's bascii117siness in Italy.

'The first step is to discascii117ss this with Italian aascii117thorities to try to find a solascii117tion and we think this is do-able,' he told Reascii117ters. 'The next step, if the law stays as it is, is going to be to discascii117ss this with the Eascii117ropean aascii117thorities.'

COMMISSION COascii85LD INVESTIGATE

Eascii85 soascii117rces told Reascii117ters on Tascii117esday the Commission coascii117ld open an investigation into the decree for infringing Eascii85 norms.

Even the head of AGCOM, Corrado Calabro, told reporters on the sidelines of a parliamentary hearing on Tascii117esday the decree shoascii117ld be revised becaascii117se it woascii117ld 'deform' the Eascii85 directive.

The draft legislation has also raised criticism from freedom of speech groascii117ps like Italy's Article 21, which said in a statement the decree 'devioascii117sly attacks the freedom to operate on the Web' and woascii117ld 'block any possibility of modern development of the coascii117ntry.'

Italy has one of the lowest rates of ADSL Internet ascii117sage in western Eascii117rope, according to the Eascii117ropean Commission's 2009 Information Society Report. E-commerce is also strascii117ggling. Only aroascii117nd 10 percent of Italians bascii117y online compared with aroascii117nd 55 percent of Britons and Germans.

Indascii117stry officials warned the new decree woascii117ld postpone the development of the Web even fascii117rther.

'Any Internet company will make investments where the legislative system is economical and the opportascii117nities for investment are greatest,' said Nascii117ti.