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After a five-month hiatus, Senate Bill 1136 is back on the agenda. The proposal, originally tabled by Fratelli d'Italia senator Lavinia Mennuni, with the transpartisan support of other political forces, aims to ban autonomous registration on social media networks for minors under the age of 15.
The urgency of the provision has been reinforced by a tragic episode in Trescore Balneario, where a teacher was stabbed by a 13-year-old boy. This tragedy rekindled the debate on the relationship between young people, social media networks and violence, prompting the government to consider an immediate tightening of rules on digital platforms.
The government's plan
Meanwhile, the Palazzo Chigi (seat of government) is preparing a new bill. The proposal calls for the introduction of mandatory parental control systems, with restrictions on the use of devices by minors, filtering of dangerous content and restrictions on messages and calls. Autonomous access to social media networks would only be permitted from the age of 15 onwards, while parents would be able to exercise active control over their children's online activity.
The government is evaluating the possibility of amending Bill 1136 or promoting a decree-law, which would be quicker to adopt, in order to avoid the delays associated with parliamentary deadlines. The risk, warn associations such as Moige, is that a new proposal will not succeed before the end of the legislature, leaving young people exposed to the dangers of social media networks.
The political debate
The bill has garnered bipartisan support, but is also raising questions about how it will be implemented. The Democratic Party (PD) and certain opposition forces fear "ill-structured" measures, while the government insists on the need for technically effective tools, without recourse to intrusive controls such as biometrics. The aim is to strike a balance between digital security and parents' educational responsibility.
The next steps
In the next few days, the Commission could harmonize the government's project with Bill 1136, in order to draw up a measure that could be adopted before the end of the legislature, at the risk of seeing the courts take political lead with rulings on the subject. The central issue remains the protection of minors online, with platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok under scrutiny to ensure digital safety and responsibility.
Source : New text n° NT to bill n° 1136 || Senate of the Republic
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