In Italia, the proposed legislation is at a standstill

Driven by clinical evidence regarding the neurological effects of exposure to social media, news stories and European pressure to regulate minors’ access to digital platforms, several bills on the protection of minors online (from both the government and the opposition) have also been tabled in the Italian Parliament.

Their progress through Parliament, however, is slow, if not at a complete standstill: in fact, none of them has yet received initial approval from either House. Most of the proposals focus on banning minors’ access to social media and on the obligation for platforms to verify age (currently in Italia, children under 14 may only use social media with their parents’ explicit consent, but there are no tools in place to effectively verify this requirement). Some also address the education of adolescents and the regulation of how technology platforms operate.

The bill at the most advanced stage in the parliamentary process is the bipartisan Mennuni-Madia bill (A.S.1136), introduced in 2024 and partially rewritten to comply with the EU Commission’s guidelines. By mid-2025, it appeared to be on track for approval but then stalled. It prohibits access to social media for under-15s, obliges operators to implement effective age verification systems, strengthens parental responsibility and introduces protective measures for child influencers. The Carfagna Bill (A.C. 2861), tabled in March 2026. It obliges platform operators to introduce identity verification systems and addresses design features that may encourage prolonged or compulsive use of the service.

In January 2026, the Latini proposal (A.C. 2777) was tabled in the Chamber of Deputies; in addition to banning the use of social media by under-15s (whilst requiring parental consent for those aged between 15 and 18) and obliging platforms to introduce effective age verification systems, also provides for the promotion of education programmes and digital literacy in schools. It introduces penalties for breaches of up to 6 per cent of global annual turnover.

The Nicita-Basso proposal of late March (A.S. 1859), on the other hand, shifts the focus to the operation of platforms based on the principle that operators are responsible for the architectures through which they distribute content. It prohibits mechanisms that lead to compulsive use and the shaping of preferences through non-consensual profiling. It also requires transparency regarding how algorithms work. Other measures have been tabled in the Chamber of Deputies or the Senate in recent years, but their consideration has either not yet begun or has stalled.