Italy approves media duties to report acquittals on request

Diritto.it, in its article “Sentenze di assoluzione: nuovi obblighi per i media” dated 5 November 2026, reports that the Italian Senate gave final approval on 28 October to bill A.S. 1919, known as the Costa law. The measure would insert Article 144-ter into Italy’s Privacy Code, governing the reporting of favourable outcomes in criminal proceedings. At the article’s publication date, publication in the Official Gazette was still pending and the new duties were not operational. The measure’s contents and legislative status have not been checked directly against the official text.

According to Diritto.it’s account, a person acquitted, otherwise discharged, or benefiting from a decision not to proceed or to close a case could request publication of the favourable outcome. The duty would apply to the editor or person responsible for a print, radio, television or online news outlet that had reported the proceedings or related acts and decisions. Publication would be free for the person concerned and receive prominence commensurate with the earlier coverage. The mechanism would therefore depend on a request and apply to outlets that had covered the case.

Diritto.it further reports that, if the outlet failed to comply, the person concerned could notify Italy’s data protection authority, the Garante. The authority would have to decide within the following five days and could order publication; the measure reportedly provides no specific penalties. Reputation would thus be protected by supplementing coverage of the proceedings with their favourable outcome. How to determine prominence proportionate to the original coverage would remain a matter for implementation in practice.