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Bludgeoned Italian Prime Minister Blames Facebook, Net for Attack

by Terrence O'Brien on December 16, 2009 at 04:19 PM

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is, to put it politely, interesting. The multi-billionaire media magnate-turned-politician is more famous for his countless scandals and affairs than he is for his repeat performances as Prime Minister. He has compared himself to Mother Teresa and Gandhi, argued he was "more equal" in the eyes of the law, and claimed to have been "appointed by God," while fending off charges of corruption and bribery, as well as reported trysts with underage girls. So it's a little shocking that it took a third stint as PM before someone managed to assault the controversial leader with a blunt object.

What's not shocking is Berlusconi seeking to blame Facebook and a "campaign of hatred" for the assault with a deadly statuette that left the Prime Minister short two teeth and a pint of blood. A free speech backlash has been prompted by messages of support and fan clubs on social networking services like Facebook and Twitter for Massimo Tartaglia, Berlusconi's attacker. On Wednesday, Interiors Minister Roberto Maroni suggested tighter Net controls to prevent a "dangerous spiral of emulation."

It's not uncommon for politicians to point fingers at the Internet for inspiring violence, but rarely are such accusations obvious attempts to censor sources of disagreeable media. Berlusconi owns a vast media empire, controlling two daily newspapers, one of two major Italian news magazines, and three of the seven major TV channels -- while three more are directly controlled by the government. The obvious step then, from the man who has attempted to sue several independent newspapers for reporting on his extracurricular activities, is to place strict limits on free speech on the Internet.

Though Facebook and Twitter are the primary targets of the administration, it's not hard to imagine that cracking down on social networking is just the beginning. Italy already places strict limits on freedom of speech, including requiring that all blogs register with the Government for easy tracking (though that goes largely ignored). So, it's not a stretch to believe that Berlusconi and his aides will soon be targeting reputable online outlets. [From: The Christian Science Monitor]

Tags: berlusconi, censorship, facebook, Silvio Berlusconi, SilvioBerlusconi, top, twitter

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