LEGAL NEWS IN THE SPOTLIGHT | Administrative Court annuls AGCOM Resolution on Age Verification as applied to non-established service providers

On 7 April, through four parallel judgments, the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio (TAR Lazio) partially annulled the age verification system imposed by AGCOM on adult websites, following challenges brought by companies established in other EU Member States against AGCOM Resolution No. 96/25/CONS (implementing Article 13-bis of Law Decree No. 123 of 15 September 2023, the so-called “Caivano Decree”). In particular, the Court annulled the resolution insofar as it had entered into force with respect to operators not established in Italy, due to the failure to comply with the procedural requirements set out in Article 3(4)(b) of the E-commerce Directive. This provision requires that restrictive measures against service providers established in another Member State and operating on a cross-border basis may be adopted only after a prior request for intervention has been addressed to the Member State of establishment.

For the remainder, the Court upheld the lawfulness of AGCOM Resolution No. 96/25/CONS (as well as Article 13-bis of Law Decree No. 123/2023), holding that, pending the adoption of harmonised EU rules implementing Article 28 of the Digital Services Act, Member States retain the power to regulate the protection of minors, including with specific regard to age verification mechanisms.

Newsletter n. 117 – April 2026