Berlusconi forced to accept watered-down wiretaps bill

ITALIAN Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right coalition has backed down on a controversial wiretaps bill as its deputies approved a watered-down version in a parliamentary committee vote.

The initial bill would have banned the publication of transcripts in the media and called for up to two years in jail and fines of up to €464,700.

It drew fire from the opposition, the European Union and even some of Berlusconi’s allies and prompted a one-day strike by most Italian media outlets protesting what they called the “gag law”.