Wikipedia hides Italian language edition to protest new law

Wikipedia says that he hid the Italian edition of the online encyclopedia, to be against a new proposed rule in the country, against sites on the patch within 48 hours of content, without checking the post in protest.

“As you can see, the page still exists and is only hidden, but there is a risk that we will soon need to be effectively removed,” said on Tuesday published a message on his edition of Wikipedia in Italian.

New rules for the debate in parliament this week, would lead to Internet publications to publish the correction within 48 hours of receipt of the request or the risk of € 12,000 ($ 16,000 U.S.) fine. The proposal includes a site for the correction of the content, which contains the applicant’s injury / her photograph.

The proposed scheme has been criticized by some activists in Italy and abroad, who argue that this restriction of freedom of expression in dealing with the Internet, and use in the near future, to avoid negative media coverage of controversial Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to stop.

Opponents of the proposed regulation is particularly annoying, but correction is not subject to verification. Unfortunately, the law does not require judges to consider the application on an impartial third party, says Wikipedia. “The opinion of the person who allegedly violated all that is necessary for such a correction at each site to impose.”

Anyone offended by any content on the blog, online journal and is likely to also be published on Wikipedia can feel right to ask “corrected” version to contradict and refute the contents are supposedly bad, “regardless or reliability of the information to be offensive, and had their sources, “says Wikipedia.

The obligation to publish on its Web site, the correction is not only right to discuss and review requirements, unacceptable restrictions on freedom and independence to Wikipedia, up to the distortion of the principles underlying the free encyclopedia has been added.

Wikipedia seems to claim that its own internal reviews such matters were treated in an appropriate manner. “All these years, users of Wikipedia (and we stress again that Wikipedia has no editor) to check always been available – and, if necessary – all content as harmful to all, without compromising the neutrality and independence of the project,” he said.

In addition, Italian and English versions of his testimony, Wikipedia has also developed a version of the statement in other languages ​​like French and Spanish to the Italian edition. Separate online petition initiated by the users of the online encyclopedia, ask the Italians to sign the project against Wikipedia and save.