MILAN: Italy’s communication authority AGCOM has adopted new rules and regulations enabling it to ask online video-sharing platforms to remove “harmful content” to protect consumers especially minors in the country, it said in a statement on Thursday.
Local media reported that the new rules and regulations will take effect from January 8, 2024 and possibly affect services such as TikTok, Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube.
The regulations will target videos considered to be a threat to children by promoting sexual, racial, and ethnic hate, as well as those that do not effectively secured consumers, AGCOM’s said.
Italy Announces New Regulations for Social Media Platforms to Protect Minors
Under the new rules and regulations, the communication authority will also be empowered to take aim at social media platforms based in other EU member nations, having first informed the relevant authorities.
Italy’s action follows the European Union’s approval of its Digital Services Act, approved in October 2022, which needs Big Tech to do more to fight illegal and harmful online content, particularly if it is aimed at children.
