FURTHER UPDATE ON THE "BAVAGLIO"

Now, at last, Times Online has a take on it here. We have the amendment, which states that "Persons who have or use personal or collective internet sites, whether or not they carry products, and provided they do not constitute a profit-making company, will not have to register with the roc [Registro degli operatori della comunicazione]". Beppe Grillo is as unconvinced as I am that this is the solution, for he asks, as I asked on Tuesday, whether sites which, for instance, carry Google Ads, could be deemed "profit-making companies". This being Italy, I fear they might. The whole thing is still ambiguous. Grillo also points out that the rest of the world is now laughing at Italy.

I still think all this has happened because a group of politicians see bloggers as possible sources of revenue, first and foremost, but it could also be that they wouldn't mind shutting down blogs such as Grillo's. To me he is a very welcome thorn in the side of authority.

This is what I think will happen, for what it's worth: I think we will all, eventually, have to at least begin some ridiculous, costly - in time if not in money - process of "registering" ; we will be fed-up, irritated and worried to death as the procedures are very unlikely to be simple. And finally, when the government [whichever is in by then] realises that the idea is a non-starter and impossible to regulate, there will be a climb-down - not least because this law will be out of line with EU statutes.