Underpinning the discussions at this Aspen national roundtable session on “The new media, the power of information and business” was the notion that the internet could serve as a driver of growth in Italy on the condition that the internet economy bears part of the massive costs associated with its own development. Recent studies were cited which estimate that the internet economy in Italy today accounts for 2% of the country’s gross domestic product, with expected growth margins by 2015 of between 3.3% and 4.3%. This is still low compared to other European countries such as the United Kingdom and Denmark, where the internet economy contributes 7.2% and 7.3% of GDP respectively. The Italian figure takes on an interesting hue, however, if one looks at its projected growth, given that between 2011 and 2015 the internet economy is set to swell by 13% to 18%, representing a value of between 59 and 77 billion euro. In other words, for every euro of Italian GDP growth between now and 2015, an average of 15 cents could be attributable to the expansion of the internet economy.
Nevertheless, the participants conceded that in some respects the internet economy in Italy is lagging (with a wide “digital divide” in evidence), due not only to sub-optimal infrastructure, but also to poor digital literacy. The latter was viewed as being closely linked to population age factors, which see only Italians in the younger age brackets active online. Further considerations identified as impacting adversely on the development of the internet economy in Italy – and, not surprisingly, the digital books market – include, in particular, a reluctance to use credit cards and the numerous delays experienced in the delivery of goods purchased online but dispatched by post or courier. Policymakers and legal experts also pointed to the growing inadequacy of existing legal mechanisms – including tax, antitrust, and intellectual property laws – in the face of the enormous volume of transactions taking place online everyday.
For their part, online operators expressed a willingness to work on strategic issues such as: a) familiarizing individuals and businesses with online culture; b) the development of SMEs in the digital ecosystem; and, c) maintaining the internet as an open system to expand its use and stimulate investment. In addition, there are a number of areas of responsibility that have so far been almost exclusively the prerogative of the State (including welfare, education, and health) which could be increasingly devolved to the internet economy, with substantial cost savings and improved efficiency. In the short term, however, the loss of jobs in traditional media sectors was seen by some as a cause for concern. Indeed, it was noted that with the proliferation of the internet, many print journalists have lost their positions. Yet it was also acknowledged that it has not all been bad news for traditional media outlets, with organizations such as Al Jazeera, who have effectively managed to integrate traditional platforms like television with new media, achieving great success. In this regard, there was general consensus amongst the participants that faced with the frantic pace of change being witnessed in the media sector, the winners will be those who are able to grasp the potential of the transformations underway and ride the revolutionary wave.