The protection of minors from harmful content provided on video sharing platform services. An inquiry into the solutions provided by the Italian legal framework

Abstract

The paper aims to investigate the legal framework (both European and Italian) concerning the protection of the minors from harmful content provided on video-sharing platform services. The paper examines how the stated objective – protecting minors from harmful content – can be accomplished in the digital ecosystem. Establishing a legal framework for the protection of minors, particularly one that allows a public Authority to restrict the dissemination of harmful content, as provided by the Italian legal system, implies limiting some constitutional freedoms of both service providers and users of those services. This suggests, in accordance to the Italian Constitution, that the public Authority’s prerogatives must be grounded in science, rather than just being reasonable and proportionate. Regarding this last topic, the paper analyzes how the Italian legal system ensures that “scientific basis”.