Page 12 - Kattison Avenue - Fall 2025 - Issue 15

Bringing Sexy Back? Italy Says No, for Now

Italian parliament debates free expression and the protection of civil rights in advertising

By Cynthia Martens

Is banning a sexually suggestive ad considered viewpoint
discrimination, or a defense of women’s civil rights?

In October, members of the conservative political party
Fratelli d’Italia, headed by Italian prime minister Giorgia
Meloni, proposed amending a section of the Italian
traffic code that addresses roadside advertising . The
1
law was last amended in September 2021 to ban “all
forms of advertising whose contents advance sexist or
violent messages, or offensive gender stereotypes or
messages that harm the respect of individual rights, civil
and political rights, religious creed or membership of an
ethnic group, or discriminate based on sexual orientation,
gender identity or physical and mental ability.”
The 2021 amendment, introduced by then-legislators
Alessia Rotta and Raffaella Paita, was widely applauded
in Italy as a response to the prevalence of both
advertisements that objectify women as well as incidents
of domestic and sexual violence against women,
with supporters arguing that the two phenomena are
intrinsically linked.

Legislators Lucio Malan and Salvo Pogliese of Fratelli Annuitti/Shutterstock.com
d’Italia, on the other hand, suggested that the 2021
amendment was overly broad in its drafting and an racist roadside billboards,” she said, noting that in July, the City of Rome
impermissible limitation on free expression that could had sanctioned political advertisements depicting individuals from ethnic
result in absurd government censorship. They proposed minorities alongside slogans such as “Subway pickpocket? Now you’re
narrowing the law to ban only “obscene or sexually going to jail — no excuses.”
explicit” advertising content, or that which “engages in or “We need to preserve a legal basis for eliminating discriminatory messaging
incites the commission of offenses under Art. 604-bis of everywhere, especially on the roads,” Pastorella added.
the Penal Code or other crimes, or implicates the sexual
image of individuals.” The draft amendment was included in the annual review of the country’s
Competition Law (DDL Concorrenza), which also included a package of
We spoke to Giulia Pastorella, a member of Italy’s “Made in Italy” supply chain transparency reforms championed by the
Chamber of Deputies and vice president of the Azione Italian fashion sector. Ultimately, however, under pressure to approve
political party, for an insider’s perspective.
the annual budget, the government requested a confidence vote on the
“This attempt at backpedaling is absolutely dangerous. overall text and thereby dropped all amendments submitted in committee.
It’s absurd that as the whole world considers how to As of October 29, Italy’s ban on discrimination in advertising stands.
limit this type of content on social media, my colleagues
thought it makes sense to have sexist, homophobic or 1 Article 23 of D.L. n.285 of April 30, 1992, amendment 4 bis.

12 Kattison Avenue | Fall 2025