Italy has become the first country in the EU to approve a comprehensive law regulating the use of artificial intelligence. This includes imposing prison conditions on people who use technology to harm them, such as the generation of deepfakes and restricting access to children.
Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government said that the law, consistent with the EU's groundbreaking AI law, is a critical move that will affect how AI is used across Italy.
The aim is to promote “human-centered, transparent and safe use of AI” while emphasizing “innovation, cybersecurity, and privacy protection.”
The bill would introduce a prison term of one to five years for illegal spread of content generated or manipulated by AI if it causes harm.
There are also more severe penalties for using this technology to commit crimes such as fraud and identity theft, including stricter transparency and human surveillance rules that govern how technology is used in various sectors such as workplaces and healthcare, education, justice and sports.
Additionally, children under the age of 14 need parental consent to access AI.
With regard to copyright, the law provides that AI-supported works are protected if they come from authentic intellectual efforts, but AI-driven text and data mining is permitted only in non-co-equipped content or scientific research by licensed institutions.
Alessio Butti, executive director of digital transformation, said the law “will bring innovation within the boundaries of the public interest and guides AI towards citizen growth, rights and full protection.”
After a year of discussion, the government has appointed Digital Italy and the National Cybersecurity Agency to enforce the laws that were final approved by Parliament.
Working on the theme of AI in March last year, Meloni said: “There are Italian methods when it comes to artificial intelligence, Italian methods of developing artificial intelligence, and Italian methods of dominating artificial intelligence.”
She considered the technology “the greatest revolution of our time,” but said its full potential can only be achieved if it was developed within the framework of ethical rules that focuses on people and their rights and needs.
The law allows up to 1 billion euros (£870 million) from state-backed venture capital funds to support businesses operating in AI, cybersecurity and telecommunications, but critics argue that the total is smaller compared to the investments made by the US and China.
