(this is my own synthesis of an article just published by Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano)

After 5 months, the so-called “Ammazza blog” (blog killer") proposal is back to be submitted again for approval by the Italian Parliament. As it too often happens in Italy with similar small but surely unpopular norms, it is “hidden” as a sub-section of a wider law proposal on an unrelated issue, in this case wiretapping.

The proposal is terribly simple. In order to protect people from online defamation, this law states that each webmaster of whatever website must rectify within 48 hours (even if you’re a private blogger who just left for the weekend!) any page on the website itself, if somebody just tells him or her (how?) that they consider themselves wronged by that page. No discussion or reply allowed, no judge needed, and the fine for not “rectifying” within 2 days is 12K Euros.

Luckily, the whole idea is sooo … OK, let’s say “dumb”, that even many Parliament Members of all parties seem uncomfortable with it. Still, with all the problems Italy has these days, it’s depressing to have to waste time to kick this censorship zombie back, in the grave where it belongs, every few months. This time, that is just while Italy is attending, of all things, the worldwide meeting on the Open Government Partnership in Brasilia, it’s even funny. In all the wrong ways, of course.

Please help us (*) to explain the Italian Governments that a law like this is, er, embarassing, even if it were right or applicable. Thanks!

(*) if you’re in Brasilia these days and ask such explanations to whatever delegate of the Italian Government you come across, please let us know!