Italy is behind on implementing the Media Freedom Act. The RAI issue needs to be resolved.

The August 8th deadline for implementation is approaching, and Italy, like many other European countries, has not yet implemented the Media Freedom Act, approved by the European Parliament in March 2024. The measure severely limits the use of spyware and prohibits authorities from pressuring journalists and publishers to reveal their sources, including through detention, sanctions, searches of their offices, or the installation of intrusive surveillance software on their electronic devices. The measure also makes it clear that, to provide maximum transparency to the public, all news organizations will be required to publish information on their owners and report the funds they receive from state advertising, even if these funds originate from third countries. There is also a clear shift in strategy toward Big Tech. The measures include a mechanism to prevent very large online platforms, such as Facebook, X, or Instagram, from arbitrarily restricting or deleting independent media content.

Giorgia Meloni 's government is in place, considering the regulation entered into force in May of that year. Member states have had approximately 15 months to comply. The risk, starting next fall, is that they will be in breach. It's true that the timeframe for EU sanctions is long, but the issue will certainly be discussed again in the European Parliament starting in September. With an eye also on Italy, where the Democratic Party and Five Star Movement are linking the delay in the Media Freedom Act to the Paragon case, alleging espionage against several journalists.

According to the new regulation, the section concerning directors and boards of directors of publishing companies will be crucial for Italy: they must be selected through transparent and non-discriminatory procedures for sufficiently long terms. They cannot be fired before their contracts expire unless they no longer meet professional criteria. This last point has effectively forced the government to accelerate the reform of RAI. The center-right proposal frees the government from the appointment of the six members of RAI's board of directors, entrusting it to the Chambers of Parliament with a quorum that requires an absolute majority from the third ballot. The government intends to bring the proposal to the Senate between September and October, but the opposition is up in arms and has branded the bill a vademecum "for political occupation" of the public service.