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Politics

by Mike Masnick

Wed, Jun 18th 2008 12:52am




Filed Under:
crime, italy, pranks, tv


Italy Makes 'Deliberately Getting On TV' A Crime?

from the please-explain-the-reasoning dept

With all the new laws being proposed to try to deal with people committing stupid crimes with the sole intention of getting "famous" on YouTube, it seems fair to ask if the laws themselves make sense. However, some seem to be taking such laws even further. Reader Dave writes in to point out that Italy appears to have outlawed deliberately getting yourself on TV. The law was targeted at a prankster who's made quite a career for himself disrupting TV newscasts in order to promote condoms. He's (amazingly) been able to do this 20,000 times. You can understand why this might be frustrating -- but you would also think there would be other laws to deal with this. Instead, this new law sounds very broadly written, as you could get arrested for it even if you appear on TV and are "silent and immobile." So, simply standing behind a TV reporter during a newscast could now put you in prison in Italy. Something doesn't seem right about that.

22 Comments | Leave a Comment..


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  1.  

    It's not a law..

    identicon
    Joseph, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 1:35am

    It's not a law, it's a decision by the court for interrupting a public service and the court said that may be so, even if you stand still.

    (a dozen of people don't need to move to block a train or to interrupt any other public service)

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  

    ahh the irony

    identicon
    colony, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 1:59am

    needing protection from someone promoting protection.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  

    Re: It's not a law..

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 3:13am

    If you don't want members of the public in your footage - don't film in public!

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  

    there's worst

    identicon
    Italian exiled, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 3:14am

    Unfortunately Italy is experiencing a lot of this repression lately.
    In the last few weeks and in the next few ones, press will be denied the right to inform people (about accadiments in court of law), judges will be denied the right to investigate (by the abolition of wiretapping for so called "light" crimes like political bribery), citizens will be denied the right to sue big companies with class actions and army will be called to patrol the streets.

    Please, help us!!

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  

    Brilliant

    identicon
    Knightsbridge, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 3:23am

    Haha, this made me laugh!

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  6.  

    Gov't sucks

    identicon
    Go EU, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 3:52am

    See what happens when government steps in. Maybe there needs to be a committee put together to study this problem. Then in 90 days I want a report on how stupid this law or rule is.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  7.  

    Disturbing...

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 4:52am

    Would you buy condoms advertised by a man who leaps in front of the camera during a live news broadcast?

    Something about that doesn't scream "reliable" to me.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  8.  

    So...

    identicon
    Skippy T. Mut, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 5:08am

    If I were a cameraman in Italy could I run around with my camera and get everyone I film put in prison?

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  9.  
    identicon
    John Duncan Yoyo, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 5:23am

    Since the Italian prime minister owns a bunch of TV stations this isn't much of a surprise. They would probably go after the guy in the rainbow wig with the John 3:16 sign.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  10.  

    Re: It's not a law..

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 5:37am

    If they cant handle the crowds why are they even bother to go "live"? Talk about catering to idiots.....cant take the heat kitchen you know what im talkin about.

    As for newscasts are a public service?

    riiiight, any "news" that relies on advertising is suspect by principal alone, let alone the rest of it.

    Think of it this way, today's news is "dumbed down" to the point it will attract viewers stupid enough to actually buy the products advertised. Neat huh?

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  11.  
    identicon
    HS, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 5:37am

    Who cares what this guy does. I personally think it hilarious when people do that kind of stuff on live TV.
    BabaBooey BabaBooey BabaBooey BabaBooey BabaBooey

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  12.  

    20,000 times?

    identicon
    Xris, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 6:05am

    That's like once a day for 54 years. That can't be right, can it?

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  13.  

    one more thing ...

    identicon
    Xris, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 6:10am

    From the article:
    The court has also ruled that anyone who deliberately gets onto TV while standing in a public place can commit an offence ...
    Does that mean the reporters themselves would be committing a crime? They're deliberately causing themselves to be on TV by reporting in front of a camera.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  14.  

    Re: Re: It's not a law..

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 7:11am

    Umm, once more in English, please

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  15.  
    identicon
    Captain Insano, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 7:40am

    Im all for beating the hell out of stupid dumbass in the background waving with cell phone. Hi Im a dumbass can you see me on tv? I would love to see someone come up and slap the living shit out of loud cell phone talker waving to tv camera.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  16.  

    Gabriele Paolini is crap anyway... ;)

    identicon
    Nicola Battista, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 7:47am

    I agree on the fact that Italy is seeing a lot of repression and censorship under the current government of Mr.Berlusconi. After behaving for a couple months, in the last few days the guy has shown his old (and real) face and is back to trying to use the law and his power so save his own ass and a few friends. If his lawyer is so sure he will not be sentenced in the Mills case (a long story involving bribes, Hollywood movies broadctasting rights for tv and some English lawyer) then why try to make new laws (one approved today by our Senate) to block certain criminal trials (including those related to Berlusconi)?
    That said: Gabriele Paolini is an idiot; not sure whether he is someone with any mental health issues or if he does all this intentionally. He once appeared during a BBC correspondence from Italy advertising the url for his own porn site. He was even sentenced for that site depicting him and other people in sexual acts. Also, while many times he has appeared promoting condoms, some other times he was saying "Viva il Papa" ("hurrah for the Pope", when John Paul II was Pope) and I saw him one time screaming some assorted nonsense at a few politicians, like "Berlusconi assassino, Pannella pedofilo!" (now I certainly am not a fan of Berlusconi, but I have no idea while he was calling him "assassin" or why did he think that old radical party leader Pannella was in his opinion a "pedophile")...
    Sorry for the long text; I was just meaning to say: Paolini is certainly not reliable as a condom or anti-AIDS campaigner/supporter...

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  17.  
    identicon
    Overcast, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 8:08am

    The court has also ruled that anyone who deliberately gets onto TV while standing in a public place can commit an offence

    Does this include politicians campaigning? If so - I'd be all for it.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  18.  

    Re: Re: It's not a law..

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 8:36am

    "As for newscasts are a public service?

    riiiight, any "news" that relies on advertising is suspect by principal alone, let alone the rest of it.

    Think of it this way, today's news is "dumbed down" to the point it will attract viewers stupid enough to actually buy the products advertised. Neat huh?"

    .. You realize the irony of saying something like that on a news website supported by advertising...right? Pardon me, I see a Google Ad I need to go click...

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  19.  
    identicon
    Jim C, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 9:01am

    Does mean Paris Hilton will get a life sentence?

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  20.  

    Re: Disturbing...

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 11:05am

    Because you are hoping to prevent having a kid like that.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  21.  

    Existing laws should be good enough...

    identicon
    Jason, Jun 18th, 2008 @ 11:16am

    This should be able to be handled with a simple civil harassment suit. This class of offense is civil in nature - it represents a non-threatening act that willfully harms a business.

    It ought to have civil penalties, not criminal ones, unless the actual acts were de facto disturbing the peace, in which case again, the existing law should be good enough.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  22.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Jun 20th, 2008 @ 8:17pm

    well thats it, goodbye football league in Italy, all I can say is that once people in stadiums start getting sued thats when reform will happen

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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