Italy to liberalise wifi access from 2011: minister

Italy will liberalise public wifi access to the Internet from next year, Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said Friday, referring to a much-criticised law restricting wifi connections for security reasons.

The measure "allows us to lift restrictions... that have now been superseded by technological evolution," Maroni said at a press conference, following a government meeting that approved a package of security-related measures.

Italy in 2005 imposed serious restrictions on wifi access in public places after a series of bomb attacks in London, forcing wifi providers to require documents proving the identity of users and to track their Internet activity.

Antonio Palmieri, a lawmaker from the ruling People of Freedom party, said the removal of the restrictions was "a balanced position that combines requirements for security and for the modernisation of Italy."

(c) 2010 AFP