Media freedom under threat amidst democratic drift in Italy
By Sara Gherardi
A report released just days ago has confirmed that democratic drift and threats to media freedom are increasingly becoming a dire theme in Italy. In the face of rapidly worsening media freedom in Italy – particularly evident in the backdrop of the 2024 European elections – the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) team had organised an extraordinary mission to Italy, which took place on 16th and 17th May 2024. This mission called upon NGOs, journalists, experts, and institutional representatives to gather for an urgent discussion. CILD participated in this mission, during which three critical themes were discussed: critical legal pressures on journalists, political interference in public media services, and the potential acquisition of AGI – one of the country’s most important news agencies. The results of this exchange were published in the report “Silencing the fourth estate: Italy’s democratic drift” released by the MFRR at the end of July.
The MFRR is a mechanism co-funded by the European Commission that tracks, monitors, and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU member states and candidate countries. As far as Italy is concerned, the “Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa” forms part of the MFFR.
The published report outlines the main findings of this advocacy mission, supported by the results of ongoing monitoring activities carried out by the MFRR. The interaction between European legislation and recent domestic legislative proposals aimed at regulating media freedom was analysed. In contrast to the trend apparent at EU level, SLAPP lawsuits – meaning legal proceedings or threats aimed levelled by institutional representatives (and sometimes others) against journalists and civil society organisations for the purpose of intimidating the latter into refraining from “public participation” (criticism of the State or State-related activities) are increasing in Italy.
These legal proceedings or threats aim to use the legal system to hinder investigative and in-depth work on government activities and other realities, silencing dissent and criticism. An exemplary case is the defamation lawsuit levelled by the Prime Minister against writer Roberto Saviano. Italy urgently needs to reform its legislation in accordance with the recent EU anti-SLAPP directive, aiming at de-criminalising defamation and safeguarding journalists in their job.
In light of the June 2024 European elections, attention was drawn to the so-called “par condicio” provision, regulating the air time allowed to each political side in order to ensure impartiality and pluralism, especially during elections. Indeed, the amendment implemented was criticised for favouring majority parties and further exacerbating the subjugation of the public service by the ruling coalition. Concerns were raised about direct political propaganda in public broadcasts.
Following the appointment of the new Board of Directors within RAI, resulting tension within the broadcast’s environment erupted into strikes and strong statements from various journalists. Several journalists also resigned (whether forced or otherwise), as a protest against ongoing censorship events. This situation stands in stark contrast to the measures defined by the European Media Freedom Act. It is necessary to organise a States General on media freedom to formulate a media law in compliance with the EMFA, as supported by Senator Barbara Florida. Finally, the potential acquisition of AGI is of grave concern in terms of its possible impacts on media pluralism (or lack thereof) in Italy. This is particularly so because the acquirer would be Antonio Angelucci, who, aside from being a Lega parliamentarian, also already owns various right-wing newspapers and is an entrepreneur in the private healthcare sector.
This acquisition would have severe consequences on media pluralism and the concentration of media ownership in Italy, as well as significant potential for grave conflicts of interest. In March, AGI journalists went on strike for two days, demonstrating their opposition to this possible acquisition, which could set a dangerous precedent for acceptance of conflict of interest, putting other Italian news agencies at risk.
In conclusion, Italy’s democratic backslide is being facilitated by faltering media pluralism and the erosion of media freedom, aiming to silence independent and critical journalism of the current government. It is therefore urgent to align Italian regulations with EU and international standards, particularly regarding the independence of public media, the fight against SLAPPs, the reform of defamation laws, and the management of conflicts of interest in the media market. In this regard, the aforementioned report includes detailed recommendations for Italian institutional and government actors, indicating actions to be taken to counteract the deterioration of media freedom and implement necessary reforms.
During the Italian mission, despite requests made to that effect, no government representative wanted to meet with Media Freedom Rapid Response experts. This is a concerning sign of resistance towards independent evaluation mechanisms, specifically regarding freedom of expression in Italy.
Image by Khairil Yusof via Flickr. Licence CC BY 2.0
