AdvertisementItaly’s new AI law was approved by parliament on Wednesday, September 17th – nearly one and a half years after it was first proposed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s cabinet in April 2024. Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper said last week that the law “lays down principles, values, and objectives” for the future of AI in the country. Criminalising harmful AI and limiting children’s accessItaly’s AI law introduces strict penalties for the illegal sharing of ‘harmful’ AI content, including deepfakes. AdvertisementUsing AI at workBesides setting out an age limit for the use of AI, the new law defines the extent to which AI technology should be used in professional settings. AdvertisementLaura Ferrari, Public Affairs Specialist and Policy Officer at NGO The Good Lobby, said that Italy’s new AI law “grants excessive power to the government, without adequate democratic checks and balances”.