Wire Tapping Law in Italy: Newspaper publishers calls for support on press freedom in the European Commission

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In a high level meeting which took place on 30 June 2010 in Brussels, ENPA, the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association, and FIEG, the Italian Federation of Newspaper Publishers, welcomed the statement of Vice President Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, that a careful balance should always be ensured between the rights of privacy of the individuals and the freedom of the press.

This issue has been discussed among other subjects including freedom of the press in different EU countries, data protection, the review of Brussels I regulation and the draft consumer rights Directive.

This statement of the Vice President of the European Commission was particularly welcomed by ENPA President Valdo Lehari Jr. and Carlo Perrone, ENPA Vice President who raised concerns on the current discussion in Italy on a draft law on Wire Tapping which, if adopted by the Italian Senate, would dramatically affect press freedom and newspapers’ editorial independence.

The controversial draft law in Italy restricts the use of wiretaps by courts and imposes heavy fines on publishers and journalists who report on leaked wiretap material: the law requires a penalty of up to EUR 450,000 for publishers and 30 days in jail and up to EUR 10,000 for journalists who publish leaked material from wiretaps before the beginning of a trial. Furthermore, publishers cannot publish the entirety of documents related to ongoing investigations but only abstracts. If publishers do not respect this restriction, they could be fined of up to EUR 300,000.

The Italian Senate has recently approved in first reading the text which has now to be voted by the Chamber of Deputies and then by the Italian Senate for the final approval. Finally, it would be brought in front of the Italian President for his signature.

Publishers in Italy are seriously concerned about the consequences of this law not only on news reporting and information to the citizens but also on the impact this law will have on their relationships with journalists because of the heavy responsibility and sentences that are imposed by the draft law if it is breached.

During the meeting, Vice-President Reding stated: "In making and applying EU legislation, the European Commission has always stood for freedom of the media, freedom of expression, freedom of information and in particular for freedom of the press. I will therefore ensure that EU institutions and EU Member States uphold these values and freedoms when they make or implement EU law. Freedom of the media is also a fundamental value of the European Convention on Human Rights. All EU Member States have ratified this important document and have therefore committed to respect the principles of the Convention the application of which is supervised by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg."

Viviane Reding also stressed: “When making EU legislation and implementing it, the Commission and Member States will always take a close look at whether there is a proper balance between the goal of fighting crime and terrorism and the protection of fundamental rights such as citizens’ rights to privacy, the protection of personal data and the freedom of expression".

ENPA President Valdo Lehari jr. stated: “The situation in Italy is extremely worrying and newspaper publishers in Europe are highly concerned about any legal or political restriction which would affect journalism, editorial independence and freedom of the press. It is the mission of ENPA with its national member organisations to draw the attention of EU decision-makers and national policy-makers to these obstacles and to support its Member Associations, including FIEG, in order to protect newspapers’ democratic mission and press freedom.”

ENPA Vice-President Carlo Perrone underlined: “The statement of Vice-President Reding is encouraging and welcomed by FIEG. The wire tapping law as it is currently drafted will have irreversible effects on news reporting in the press and on professional journalism. The heavy penalties that would be imposed on publishers and journalists if the law is breached are disproportionate and unacceptable because they create an unbalanced situation between press freedom and privacy.”

Click here for the full press release.

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The European Newspaper Publishers' Association (ENPA) is an international association, defending and promoting the professional interests of the European newspaper publishing industry at different European and international organisations and institutions.
ENPA represents over 5,200 national, regional and local newspaper titles, published in 23 European Union Member States plus Norway and Switzerland. More than 150 million newspapers are sold and read by over 300 million Europeans every day, in addition to the tens of millions of unique daily visits to over 2,500 online newspapers’ websites.

The Italian Federation of Newspaper and Periodical Publishers (FIEG), founded in 1950, is a trade association whose members are publishers of daily newspapers, periodicals and national press agencies. Other organizations active in the press sector - the Italian Printing Houses Association, the Federation of Advertising Agencies and the National Newspaper Distributor Association - join FIEG.
FIEG represents over 400 national, regional and local newspapers titles and magazines, equal to about the 88% of the whole Italian publishing market. World-wide, FIEG represents the Italian Publishers in the WAN (World Association of Newspapers), ENPA (European Newspaper Publishers Association), FIPP (International Federation of the Periodical Press), FAEP (European Federation of magazine Publishers).

Contact:
Isabella SPLENDORE
splendore@fieg.it  
FIEG – Federazione Italiana Editori Giornali
Via Piemonte, 64
00187, Roma, Italy
Tel: +39 06 46201434
Fax: +39 06 4871109
www.fieg.it  

Contact:
Sophie SCRIVE
sophie.scrive@enpa.be  
ENPA - European Newspaper Publishers’ Association
Square du Bastion 1A, Bte 3
B-1050, Brussels, Belgium
Tel.: +32 (0)2 551 0190
Fax: +32 (0)2 551 01 99
www.enpa.be  

Click here for the contact details of the ENPA staff member.

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