The imprint is one of the few obligations in Law No. 5187 tied directly to a penalty. The sanction is in Art. 15.
The Text
Art. 15: where the matters required to be shown under Art. 4 on printed works and internet news sites are not shown or are shown contrary to the truth, the responsible editor and the official to whom the responsible editor reports in the case of periodicals, and the publisher in the case of non-periodicals, and the printer who does not show or wrongly shows their name and address, are punished with a heavy fine.
On Whom Is the Penalty Imposed?
| Type of publication | Responsible |
|---|---|
| Periodical | The responsible editor and the official they report to |
| Internet news site | The same - brought within the article by Law No. 7418 |
| Non-periodical | The publisher |
| Printer | The printer who does not show or wrongly shows their name and address |
Art. 11 gives examples of "the official to whom the responsible editor reports": persons such as the publishing director, the editor-in-chief, the editor and the press adviser.
The Penalty Varies with the Publication Type
Art. 15 sets floors for the penalty, and that floor rises with the publication type: the base is higher for regional periodicals and higher still for national periodicals.
The Commonest Mistakes
- The responsible editor changed and the imprint was not updated. That is the act of "showing contrary to the truth" in Art. 15.
- The place of management moved and the old address is still there. The same act; it also produces service consequences under Art. 29.
- The publication type is missing from the imprint. Art. 4 lists the type expressly.
- The electronic service address is not stated on a news site. It is a mandatory item in the paragraph added by Law No. 7418.
- The hosting provider information is missing. It must be stated even if you use your own servers.
- The imprint is two clicks away from the home page. The article says "in a way that can be reached directly from the home page".
The Consequence Beyond the Fine
A defective imprint does not only produce a fine. Under Art. 8, failing to notify changes in the content of the declaration within two weeks starts a separate deficiency chain; for internet news sites the end of that chain can be a finding that the site status has not been acquired.
Art. 36 of the Press Card Regulation also makes the notification of changes in workplace and/or title a separate obligation; failing to give that notification creates problems on the card side too.
It Cannot Be Converted into a Custodial Sentence
Summary
- Not showing, or untruly showing, the mandatory information in Art. 4 produces a heavy fine for the responsible editor and the official they report to.
- The penalty floor rises for regional and national publications.
- Leaving old information in the imprint also counts as showing it contrary to the truth, so the imprint must be updated on every change.