The protection of minors in ICT networks: the liability of the Internet providers

Italian (and EU) legislation in force does not appear to address the protection of minors in ICT networks in a completely satisfactory manner. Such conclusion especially arises when one considers that no liability is attributed on providers which only transmit information generated by a recipient of their service, or which merely give access to a communication network, with only a few specific exceptions. On the other hand, it cannot be said that a wider protection is afforded by the Italian self-regulation Code on the Internet and minors, signed in 2003. This Code is hardly a binding legal instrument, being rather an agreement among the parties who signed it. Above all, it is the lack of a diffused culture of prevention and sensitivity among providers to be more evident. As a matter of fact such gap of protection of minors has clearly surfaced many times over the recent years. Having in mind the above framework, the present work is aimed to analyse some aspects of the protection of minors in ICT communications and the liability of provid-ers under private law in the Italian legal system.