The interaction between democracy and Internet through libraries in Italy: is the Italian government going to establish controls on Internet Content?

摘要

Paper presented Wednesday 26 August 2009 at the session: Libraries and the Internet: Public Policy ChallengesCopyright and other Legal Matters (CLM) with Free Access To Information And Freedom Of Expression (FAIFE)This paper examines issues arising from the pervasive nature of the internet in the dissemination of knowledge in public and academic libraries in Italy. It posits the question of the adoption of Internet Policies which would define the services and products on offer and conditions of use, observing that such policies should ensure maximum access for the user while simultaneously preserving the rights of the copyright holder. It also explores the concept of ‘added value’, particularly in terms of open format, noting that aspects of authors’ rights need to be clarified. Outlining the progress made by some international movements in Italy such as Open Access, the paper also gives an insight into the debate within the Italian community and the challenges it faces, particularly in legal terms. It looks at copyright and other legal matters, the decrees regarding piracy, use of filtering tools and the ‘Levy’ Proposal, which defines product publishing and editorial activities for blogs and amateur sites.The paper advocates dialogue between the relevant bodies with the aim of providing a clear outline of the situation and the roles and responsibilities of all parties concerned. It states that the government’s role should primarily as a balance between public interest and market competition and expresses concern about the misinterpretation of the concept of intellectual property theft and recent trends to use copyright to restrict the property rights of cultural purchases. It is apprehensive that the digital divide between Italy and other countries might increase should providers of connectivity services be required to act as a “police line”.