AGCOM, the Media and Communications Authority of Italy, has sanctioned a ‘technical measure’ to impose “mandatory age verification to ensure the adulthood of Italian audiences”.
On Friday, the agency alerted Italian media of its new technical framework to impose mandatory measures for verifying the age of audiences engaging with adult content.
The new measures sought by AGCOM will require Italian media to enforce an age-verification check before users can view content related to gambling, pornography, and adult-specific social media categories.
AGCOM had previously proposed the technical measure of age verification controls as part of the thirteen measures introduced by the Caivano Decree – Italy’s online safety and protection bill.
As AGCOM proposed to the government: “The measure enforces stronger age verification mechanisms to protect minors from content harmful to their physical, mental, or moral development, requiring stricter safeguards across information society services.”
The framework mandates that media use the Public Digital Identity System (SPID) to verify the age of Italian citizens and residents viewing adult content.
SPID, or another form of digital identity, will be required for accessing certain services, including pornographic websites, gaming and betting platforms, and “social networks without restrictions.”
Age controls will use a “double anonymity” model to ensure privacy, as media owners will not maintain any data on the age verification of users and will be unable to track age verifications across their networks and inventory.
The European Commission (EC) has been informed of AGCOM’s technical measures, and it will conduct a review to ensure compliance with EU rules on data and user privacy.
AGCOM will launch a “technical timetable” to monitor developments in age verification systems and ensure their ongoing adaptation to technological and regulatory changes.
Once authorised by the EC, AGCOM will launch a pilot programme to test its new age controls with the support of trade groups, consumer associations, and video-sharing platforms.
New age control measures will be imposed on online gambling licences as part of the government’s pending Reorganisation Decree of Italian Gambling.
As of August, Italy’s online gambling sector has entered a ‘standstill period’ as it awaits authorisation from the European Commission to implement a new framework for online gambling concessions, expected in December or January.
Once approved, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) will introduce a new online gambling licence priced at €7 million, valid for a nine-year period, and will prohibit the use of skin gambling websites.