I have received numerous letters, many of which are from abroad, in support of the reopening of Piero Ricca’s blog, that was blocked following a libel action by Emilio Fede. If there is the principle by which it is possible to forbid the use of a blog for a libel action, still to be verified in court, then any blog in Italy could be the subject of closure. And this is very serious. The same principle for Rete 4 means it would be enough for a libel action by a citizen to block its broadcasting. I think it is the right moment to have an in-depth reflection on the freedom of information on the Internet at a political level. While I’m writing this, Piero Ricca’s blog has been reopened after almost a month. I hope that in the future, this closure remains an isolated case.

“Dear Honourable Di Pietro,
Since 10 July, Piero Ricca has not been able to update his blog with independent information (http://www.pieroricca.org/2007/04/). It was blocked by the Finance Police on the instructions of the Rome Prosecutor, following a libel action brought by Emilio Fede.
According to me, the measure is in violation of article 21 of the Italian Constitution and article 19 of the Declaration of Human Rights.
It’s not possible to block a Blog for an article (even if it might be defamatory and that is being considered in a court case) just as you wouldn’t stop the publication of a newspaper for something similar or black out a whole TV channel for a programme. But this is exactly what has happened and it is a scandal.
The correct procedure would have been to delete the article in question together with its comments and to invite Piero Ricca not to comment on the affair as long as the libel proceedings are going on, but not to block the whole site. As they say in these parts, this is "common sense".
The question that I’m asking myself as a citizen is this: are the magistrates and the financiers dealing with this substantially “ignorant” of the dynamic structures of the Internet, or is there something that is more serious and more dangerous like the negation of democratic principles, derived from external pressures, on the freedom of expression? As one who has voted for you I thus ask you to promote a parliamentary initiative to protect the freedom of expression on the Internet that it is well known, is very important to you.
Sincerely."
Graziano Milano in London