The risk of imprisonment for Internet Service Providers (ISP) represents an unprecedented threat to the telecommunications sector in Italy.

Assoprovider, the representative association of small and medium Internet service providers in Italy, raises a strong alarm regarding the amendments recently approved by the Senate Budget and Finance Committees within the DL Omnibus against TV piracy and sporting events.

The critical point is the introduction of the risk of imprisonment for Internet Service Providers (ISP) that do not promptly report alleged illegal activities. This provision represents an unprecedented threat to the telecommunications sector in Italy.

The proposed amendments provide for:

1. The extension of the obligations to block unlawfully distributed content also to providers of publicly available VPN and DNS services.

2. The obligation for network access service providers to immediately report to the judicial authority or the judicial police any potentially criminal activities of which they become aware, pimprisonment of up to one year for failure to report.

«The introduction of the risk of imprisonment for ISPs is a draconian and disproportionate measure. This regulation not only jeopardizes the personal freedom of operators in the sector but also risks paralyzing the entire telecommunications system in Italy.», declares Giovanbattista Frontera, president of Assoprovider.

Assoprovider highlights the following critical points:

1. Unjustified imprisonment risk: the threat of imprisonment for an activity of a technical and commercial nature is unprecedented and unjustified.

2. Practical impossibility: ISPs do not have the tools or expertise to determine which activities are "criminally relevant".

3. Overload of the judicial system: the fear of criminal sanctions could lead to an excess of reports, clogging the judicial system.

4. Impact on competition: this regulation will disproportionately affect small and medium operators, who do not have the resources to implement complex monitoring systems.

5. Conflict with privacy: the monitoring obligation conflicts with personal data protection regulations, placing ISPs in an untenable legal position.

"We are facing a dangerous crossroads. On one hand, we risk imprisonment if we do not report suspicious activities. On the other, we could violate privacy laws if we excessively monitor our users' traffic. It is an impossible situation for any operator."», underline Frontera.

Assoprovider calls for immediate legislative intervention to remove the threat of imprisonment and comprehensively review these amendments. The association is ready to collaborate to find effective solutions against piracy that do not jeopardize the personal freedom of operators and the fundamental rights of users.

"We are determined to combat piracy, but we cannot accept the risk of ending up in prison for doing our job. We request an urgent review of these amendments and the opening of a dialogue table with all interested parties," concludes Frontera.