The Italian government really has a firm grasp of the age of the intertubes, doesn't it?

New rules to be introduced by government decree will require people who upload videos onto the Internet to obtain authorization from the Communications Ministry similar to that required by television broadcasters, drastically reducing freedom to communicate over the Web, opposition lawmakers have warned.

"Italy joins the club of the censors, together with China, Iran and North Korea," said Gentiloni's party colleague Vincenzo Vita.

Here is insult added to injury:

The decree did not intend to restrict freedom of information "or the possibility of expressing one's ideas and opinions through blogs and social networks," Romani told the ANSA news agency.

I love how government officials, when speaking of restrictions on freedom of the people, always insist that "It was never intended to restrict the people," or some such nonsense. I love how they insist that government actions have unintended consequences and act as if this supposed lack of intent somehow makes it okay. Do they really think that gross incompetence instead of deliberate malice excuses the whole thing and makes it okay? Well, apparently they are right because most of the world today is suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, and almost nobody can help but to suck government dick and toss government salad all day long.

I pray that the Italian people wake up, and resist this "government decree" en masse, and all of them start uploading multiple videos to every hosting site in existence. And they should dissolve the Communications Ministry in its entirety.