Italy orders media to protect minors' identities after Milan unrest
The privacy regulator told several outlets to remove or alter identifiable footage of children linked to riot reporting.
Italy's data-protection authority has issued an urgent order restricting the publication of images and personal details that could identify minors shown in media coverage of disorder in Milan, according to Italian outlet Il Post. The intervention follows online and television circulation of footage recorded during the October protests.
The Garante per la Protezione dei Dati Personali ordered several newspapers and broadcasters to stop distributing the identifiable material. The order also required existing online material to be taken down or changed so the children could not be recognised.
The regulator said blurring a child's face alone would not always protect their identity where accompanying captions, locations or other information could still enable recognition. It called for the identities of children involved in news events to be safeguarded regardless of whether they were witnesses, victims or alleged participants.
Il Post reported that the outlets named in the measure included television programmes as well as news websites. The authority had not imposed financial penalties at the time of the report, but required the organisations to explain their compliance steps within three days.
The regulator cited Italy's established ethical standards for reporting on minors, including the Carta di Treviso. Those rules place the child's welfare above the public's interest in seeing identifiable imagery from a news event.
The material concerned images from the unrest in Milan on 17 and 18 October. It did not announce convictions of minors, and reports of alleged acts by individual children are not repeated here.
Neither the footage nor the child's identity is reproduced by European Crisis TV. The newsroom is reporting the regulator's action and its implications for coverage of civil disorder, not attempting to identify those involved.
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What we know
- Italy's privacy regulator issued an urgent restriction concerning identifiable images of minors linked to Milan unrest.
- Media outlets were told to remove or modify existing material to protect identity.
- The regulator said facial pixelation alone may not be adequate.
- No fines had been imposed when Il Post reported the decision.
Not yet confirmed
- Whether every outlet has completed compliance and any subsequent penalties were not established.
Why it matters for Europe
Crisis and protest coverage can put minors at risk when images and contextual details reveal identity. The regulator's order sets an immediate compliance requirement for Italian media organisations.
Sources
Reported by 3 reports from 3 independent outlets in 1 countries.
- Il Fatto Quotidiano: Passeggeri molesti si mettono a fumare a bordo del volo Delta New York-Milano: scatta l’emergenza, la Polizia interviene all’atterraggio a Malpensa
- Il Post: Il Garante della Privacy ha bloccato la diffusione delle immagini di un dodicenne coinvolto nei disordini a Milano
- Il Fatto Quotidiano: Vetrine e saccheggi, a sinistra c’è il vuoto. Perché nessuno ha visto arrivare questi giovani?
- Il Fatto Quotidiano: Siher libero, l’Anm difende la gip: “Da Meloni consueta intimidazione”. I vertici del Tribunale: “Frasi irricevibili, la vergogna riguarda altri”
- TGCom24: Caso Siher, Meloni attacca la gip di Milano: "Decisione vergognosa" | Il Tribunale di Milano: "La vergogna riguarda altre categorie"
Source balance
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Questions and answers
- What did the regulator order?
- Outlets must stop publishing images and details that identify children involved in the Milan unrest.
- Is blurring the face enough?
- The authority said it may not be enough if other information could identify the child.
This article was written with AI assistance from 5 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.