Italy has become the first country in the EU to approve a comprehensive law regulating the use of artificial intelligence, including imposing prison terms on those who use the technology to cause harm, such as generating deepfakes, and limiting child access.
Giorgia Meloni’s rightwing government said the legislation, which aligns with the EU’s landmark AI Act, is a decisive move in influencing how AI is used across Italy.
The aim is to promote “human-centric, transparent and safe AI use” while emphasising “innovation, cybersecurity and privacy protections”.
The bill introduces prison sentences of between one and five years for the illegal spreading of AI-generated or manipulated content if it causes harm.
There will also be harsher penalties for using the technology to commit crimes, including fraud and identity theft, and stricter transparency and human oversight rules governing how the technology is used in workplaces as well as in a range of sectors such as healthcare, education, justice and sport.
In addition, children under the age of 14 will need parental consent to access AI.
When it comes to copyright, the law stipulates that works created with AI assistance are protected if they originate from genuine intellectual effort, while AI-driven text and data mining will only be permitted for non-copyrighted content or scientific research by authorised institutions.
Alessio Butti, undersecretary for digital transformation, said the law “brings innovation back within the perimeter of the public interest, steering AI toward growth, rights and full protection of citizens”.
The government has appointed the Agency for Digital Italy and the National Cybersecurity Agency to enforce the legislation, which received its final approval in the parliament after a year of debate.
Addressing the theme of AI in March last year, Meloni said: “There can and must be an Italian way when it comes to artificial intelligence, an Italian way to develop artificial intelligence and an Italian way to govern artificial intelligence.”
She considered the technology to be “the greatest revolution of our time”, but emphasised that it could only achieve its full potential “if it is developed within a framework of ethical rules that focus on people and their rights and needs”.
The law authorises up to €1bn from a state-backed venture capital fund to support companies active in AI, cybersecurity and telecommunications, although critics argue the sum is small compared with investments being made by the US and China.
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