Italy Adopts Comprehensive AI Law
Italy has approved a comprehensive national law on artificial intelligence, positioning itself as the first EU member state to align domestic regulation closely with the EU AI Act. The law embeds human-centric, transparent and safe AI use as guiding principles, while prioritizing innovation, cybersecurity and privacy. It establishes cross-sector obligations spanning healthcare, employment, public administration, justice, education and sport, including traceability requirements and human oversight of AI-supported decisions. Access to AI tools for children under 14 is restricted to parental consent.
Institutionally, the Agency for Digital Italy and the National Cybersecurity Agency are designated as national authorities for AI development and coordination, with existing sector regulators—such as the Bank of Italy and Consob—retaining supervisory powers. The framework introduces criminal provisions against the unlawful dissemination of AI-generated content, including deepfakes, with penalties of one to five years’ imprisonment where harm occurs. It also increases sanctions for offenses aggravated by illegal AI use, such as identity theft and fraud.
On copyright, the law recognizes protection for works created with AI assistance where they result from human intellectual effort. It permits text and data mining by authorized research institutions for scientific purposes and for non-copyrighted content, limiting broader commercial TDM on protected works. In healthcare, AI may assist diagnosis and care under conditions, with doctors keeping final authority and patients’ right to be informed preserved. In workplaces, employers must inform workers when AI systems are deployed.
To support innovation, the law authorizes up to €1.18 billion from a state-backed venture capital fund for equity investments in SMEs and larger firms active in AI, cybersecurity, quantum technologies and telecoms, though critics argue the allocation is modest compared with global initiatives. Overall, Italy’s approach blends safeguards with investment, signaling an early national implementation path consistent with upcoming EU AI Act requirements.
