Watch what you say online — it could get you in trouble.
That's the lesson two Italian women learned this week, after facing criminal charges for publishing a sarcastic Facebook post and a negative TripAdvisor review in two separate incidents.
The women face defamation charges in separate criminal complaints, according to local media reports. Defamation carries a maximum penalty, on conviction, of one year in prison and a fine of around 1,000 euros ($1,400), according to Italian law.
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The first case involves former journalist Marina Morpurgo, who saw a controversial advertising campaign for a professional school in the city of Foggia, and aired her criticisms on Facebook. The poster featured a young girl applying heavy makeup, and the slogan, "I want to be a beautician."
Morpurgo thought the poster was in poor taste, so she decided to criticize it on the school's Facebook page, according to a letter she sent to Italian weekly L'Espresso.
"Your poster and banners are chilling ... Kudos for your representation of women ... Did they place you in hibernation in the 1950s, and you just woke up?" she wrote.
The school wasn't amused by her sarcastic jab. It accused her of "demeaning expressions" and filed suit.
The second case involves an unnamed university professor who, after visiting a popular restaurant in Bologna, posted a two-star review on TripAdvisor; in it, she claimed that she was served spoiled wine.
"It's unacceptable to come three times with undrinkable wine. I'm not talking about bad wine, no, I'm talking about spoiled wine, stuff that can create health issues," she wrote, according to Italian daily Corriere della Sera.
The professor posted her review last year, but the restaurant decided to press charges recently to defend its "good name," the newspaper reported.
Francesco Micozzi, an Italian lawyer who specializes in criminal and technology law, told Mashable that despite widespread media attention, both cases will likely be dismissed.
"The law allows everybody to make any kind of accusation or complaint," he said in an email. "But that doesn't necessarily mean that it will result in a conviction."
For journalism professor Mario Tedeschini, however, this is yet another sign that Italian law is inadequate. "Defamation is still a crime in this country, and prison terms are still on the books (and used from time to time)," he wrote in a blog post. "'Defamation by means of the press,' is a specific aggravating circumstance."
The law has been criticized by international organizations, including the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which have emphasized the threat it poses to freedom of expression.
"Criminalizing defamation limits the liberty in which freedom of expression can be exercised," Frank La rue, the UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, said earlier this month after visiting Italy.
"The fines are excessive. They could create a chilling effect on the media and in some cases pose a significant threat to journalists in smaller media outlets," Dunja Mijatović, OSCE representative on freedom of the media, said in a press release.
There is no equivalent of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment in Italy, although Article 21 of the country's constitution protects freedom of expression.
"But the right to criticize isn't unlimited," Micozzi said, adding that the critique needs to be true, have social relevance and the terms used can't be too vulgar. As a result, he thinks both cases will be dismissed, but said the women will still encounter legal fees and have to deal with stress.
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