Antonio Martusciello Commissioner for Agcom Bucharest – 15th of June Italy’s initiatives for online platforms self-regulation Antonio Martusciello Commissioner for Agcom Bucharest – 15th of June

Introduction The CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg in his recent hearing at the European Parliament said: "the point is not whether or not to regulate the internet, but how to regulate it“ Guy Verhofstadt, member of the European Parliament, was one of the most critical MEPs of Zuckerberg saying that the social network risks becoming "a digital monster that is destroying our democracies and our societies"

Introduction Even in the absence of a precise regulatory framework, we need to develop specific measures today I wish to discuss intervention and an overview of the initiatives we have launched in Italy to counteract the phenomena of fake news and in general online disinformation

The consumption of online information 70% of Italians use the internet to access news. However, television continues to gain larger audience: 90% of Italians use it to access information. internet surpassed other means of accessing news that have monthly levels of use around 60%.

The consumption of online information The gathering of information that forms political opinions, passes primarily through those digital sources governed by algorithms (28%), rather than through newspaper websites or other online information sites (8%). In particular, social and search engines appear the dominant source

The self-regulation board Agcom has established a technical board devoted to pursuing greater pluralism and fairness on digital platforms, this body has the task of promoting the coordination between actors This initiative has seen the participation of almost all the main stakeholders, including Google, Facebook, representatives of the main press and radio and television publishing groups

The self-regulation board The main features of the guidelines are the following: Ensuring equal access: companies managing platforms must duly inform policy makers about the available communication tools 2. Transparency of electoral advertising messages. The recognition of the message is a cardinal principle of advertising the regulation. It has therefore been requested that the advertiser indicates the nature of the "electoral message", specifying, moreover, the political client

The self-regulation board 3. Illicit contents whose dissemination is prohibited by law. This general principle to which the media must conform has been extended to online platforms. 4. Electoral silence It is desirable that platforms follow regulation applied to traditional media, in the two days preceding the voting there is no form of political propaganda 5. Prohibition of publication of surveys. Extensive interpretation also with reference to the ban on publication of surveys in the 15 days prior to the vote.

Business case: prohibition of the dissemination of surveys Agcom has found that the risk during the recent elections of March 2018 the ban on the dissemination of political surveys on TV and print could be circumvented by publishing the same surveys through the Internet The phenomenon involved websites of important newspapers that provided readers with a link to a blog where it was possible to read the survey

Business case: prohibition of the dissemination of surveys Agcom has started moral suasion to signal that, even in the absence of precise editorial responsibility for contents, the dissemination of a survey in a pre-electoral period is a violation of the normative principles that protect information pluralism in Italy

AGCOM & Media literacy The board also approved the establishment of five working groups on topics such as media literacy, fact-checking and online disinformation. This strong interpenetration between the operators’ know-how and the Authority's holistic vision will produce reports on media literacy and specific information campaigns

AGCOM & Media literacy Agcom is also committed to media literacy from a more institutional setting, through collaboration with Ministry of Education, Universities and Research, with which it has decided to join forces and expertise in a common effort The two institutions have signed a MOU

Conclusions The time of Internet self-regulation has come to an end multinational and large companies would do better to admit that there is a problem related to pathological uses of the network, such as misinformation or the misuse of personal data, and seek solutions that are shared with the public authorities

Conclusions It is important to restore across Europe the primacy of politics. Because if politics is not incisive, the operators, in the regulatory, will occupy a space that, although virtual, is capable of profoundly affecting the democratic structures of Member States.

Conclusions The EU began a courageous fight against the telco monopolies in the 1990s, which led to the development of the communication networks and services This is the spirit that we need nowadays in order to guarantee the founding values of the Union, such as pluralism, competition and consumer welfare, on the internet and all other media.

Thanks for your attention!