UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue. Addendum. Mission to Italy from 11 to 18 November 2013, A/HRC/26/30/Add.3, 29 April 2014

In the Report on its second visit to Italy, the Special Rapporteur highlights substantial compliance of the national legal framework with the relevant international standards. Nevertheless, some concerns have emerged in the translation of norms into practice. In this sense, the Special Rapporteur indicates his concerns regarding the continued criminalization of defamation, the existence of threats against some journalists and the deteriorating working conditions of journalists overall. Problematic aspects are also individuated in the field of pluralism of the media, such as conflicts of interest of senior government officials with holdings in the media, the removal of the ban on cross-ownership of broadcast and print media, the lack of transparency with regard to dissemination of information on private media ownership and control. The Special Rapporteur is also concerned at the recurrence of episodes of hate speech. In this respect, as well as other issues examined in the Report, the Special Rapporteur provides a series of recommendations on the review of regulations and policies.