Italy
Italy’s Senate vote for wiretapping restrictionsPosted Jun 10 2010
According to Italian news reports from June 9, the Italian Senate will soon be voting on a draft law on wiretapping.
If the bill passes, it would restrict journalists who want to publish leaked wiretapped material and the material will remain restricted during a preliminary hearing. In Italy that period varies between three and six years, and even up to 10 years in some instances. In addition, only journalists who belong to the Italian National Order of Journalists would be allowed to record and film people without previous authorization.
Manager Anthony Mills, on behalf of the International Press Institute, has urged the Italian Senate not to pass the draft law because the bill “contradicts fundamental principles in the Italian Constitution, hinders the system of checks and balances that underpins a functioning democracy, and prevents journalists from doing their work.”
UPDATE: The president of the Italian Senate announced that the law approved with 164 votes in favor. Of the 323 senators, only 189 were in the room during voting because representatives of the opposition left the room in protest.