Italy’s independent Electronic Communications Authority is planning to take drastic action against pirate sites and their operators. The organization submitted a draft regulation to the European Commission which allows for blockades and seizures of websites that fail to respond to a takedown notice within three days. In addition, the telecoms regulator will instruct local and foreign Internet providers to identify the operators of the alleged pirate sites. […]
AGCOM, Italy’s independent Electronic Communications Authority, has drafted a new regulation that will allow it to order a seizure or ISP blockade of any website that fails to promptly remove copyright infringing content, without a court order.
Under the new rules websites and ISPs will have a 72-hour window to process takedown notices. If they don’t respond appropriately within that time-frame AGCOM will take action. The new regulation is scheduled to be implemented early next year and is currently under review by the European Commission.
The proposal, which shows similarities with SOPA and new anti-piracy legislation in Russia, is meeting resistance from various sides including consumer groups, lawyers, scholars and Internet providers who have launched a petition to curb the plans. […]