The internet is not a level playing field for media

We’re in the middle of an election campaign—there’s no mistaking it. Not because we’re finally up to speed on the political platforms of party X or party Y, but simply because we’re surrounded by semi-familiar faces plastered on posters everywhere (the official poster spaces seem to be known only to the local council officer). For the last month before the elections, TV stations are legally barred from airing programs featuring political figures. The same law applies to radio, ensuring equal airtime for all parties. But what about the web?

To my surprise, the law guaranteeing balanced media coverage doesn’t include the Internet among regulated media channels. Was this an oversight or an underestimation? I’m convinced it’s the latter. While TV and radio are assumed to reach every household, the internet is still used by a smaller segment (just over twenty million Italians), and the average user is younger than the general adult population. Major online newspapers quickly seized on this regulatory gap, wasting no time in organizing political debates and interviews with various candidates. Once again, where there’s a law, there’s a loophole—and the world of online media was only too happy to exploit it.