France bans some social media for minors under 15, while Italy has a bill, the bipartisan Mennuni-Madia bill, stalled in the Senate amidst opposition controversy. Because a measure to regulate the matter is now considered necessary, but a technical issue remains to be resolved. Because in practice, it’s necessary to understand how a country can impose restrictions on private companies in other states, and the “gate” at the entrance to adult entertainment sites is there to prove it. Today, access to social media is not allowed for those under 13, from 13 to 14 years old parental consent is required, and from then on, complete autonomy.
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The Bill
The Mennuni-Madia bill moves the threshold to 15 years, introduces the obligation for platforms to adopt effective age verification systems, strengthens parental responsibility, and provides specific protections for “baby influencers.” The Carfagna bill lowers the bar to 13 years and creates a protected zone up to 16 years, with mandatory parental control, a ban on advertising profiling; here too, identity verification systems. The Latini bill extends parental consent from 15 to 18 years and calls for digital literacy in schools and the establishment of a national observatory on the impact of social media on minors.
The Expert Speaks
Pisa, April 30, 1986, Wednesday. Researcher Antonio Blasco Bonito sends a “ping” signal from the machine room of Cnuce (the National University Electronic Computing Center) towards Roaring Creek in Pennsylvania (USA), receiving the positive response “Ok.” Italy enters the proto-internet, and the Leaning Tower becomes the beacon of Europe’s digital future. We therefore put the question to Antonio Cisternino, president of the university’s IT system. And here is his answer: «It is important to clarify that there is no definition of “social”: Facebook, TikTok, X are all present, but platforms like OnlyFans, where content is also created, shared, and commented on, are not “social” in the strict sense. And YouTube, WhatsApp, and others still.» Then he recounts: «Until now, the access limit was an self-declaration. The case of OpenAi was emblematic; after the Garante’s sanction, it wrote to all its ChatGpt users asking them to use an external service to upload their identity documents (then it introduced verification via camera activation and artificial intelligence screening).»
Because «the logic that drives the private sector is that of the cost-benefit ratio, which is largely influenced by advertising and its revenues.» Is the scenario therefore a tug-of-war between legislator and provider? The Italian government denied, last year, rumors of a presumed agreement with Elon Musk (the owner of X) for the use of his Starlink satellite infrastructure, SpaceX’s internet service (also owned by Musk) already active in Italy with over 50,000 customers. «In this case, I think it’s more correct to speak of a love-hate relationship, but I don’t think providers will rebel,» he summarizes.
Everything can be done, but everything has a price. «It’s about providing a database of sensitive data to a third party. The State itself can provide this, guaranteeing access to a portion of the Pdnd (the national digital data platform). And all this provided that the adult does not cheat by creating an account for the minor. It is true that the social platform can perform an ex post verification, again thanks to AI, which by analyzing the uploaded content is able to determine the age and ban the user who should not be there,» adds Cisternino, who gives a positive interpretation of the crackdown: «The aim is to curb prolonged behavior of minors on social media, and with the introduction of a law, most parents will be discouraged from cheating.»
The Cie
And to think that Italy could have already been ahead, further ahead than others. «For too long, the State has delegated the identification system for its citizens to others. The Cie system (the electronic identity card) is very well made, and it’s a shame that its full implementation has been postponed again,» continues the president of the Pisan university’s IT system, who at this point returns to the Latin phrase from Juvenal’s Satire VI: who will guard the guardians? «In a country where everything is done in an “artisanal” way, I greatly appreciate the artificial intelligence law passed a few days ago by the Tuscany Region: it contributes to digital culture, involves and supports the population, especially those no longer passive in the face of the use of new technology,» he concludes.