Legislative Decree No. 160 of 9 September 2026 adapting national law to Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 on artificial intelligence, concerning the use of AI systems for police activities and civil and criminal liability

Summary

First decree under Article 24 of Law 132/2025 adapting Italian law to the AI Act. Title I governs police AI use under the principles of proportionality, non-discrimination, human oversight and transparency, including real-time remote biometric identification and retrospective facial recognition with judicial authorisation. Article 12 adds Article 437-bis to the Criminal Code; failing to adopt required safety or human-oversight measures for high-risk AI systems carries one to five years in prison if it endangers life or safety. Articles 16-20 let courts order disclosure of evidence on an AI system, presume causation on breach of an AI Act obligation and allow direct action against insurers.

Language

No English version of this instrument was found. The English title and the summary are the register's own, written from the sources below; for the exact wording use the Italian text.

Safety topics

Status notes

Approved in preliminary form by the Council of Ministers on 10 June 2026 and finally on 4 August 2026, after opinions of the data protection authority (Garante), the Unified Conference (20 July 2026) and the competent parliamentary committees; issued on 9 September 2026, published in GU n. 214 of 15 September 2026 and in force from 30 September 2026. 22 articles in three titles. Where the danger is to the security of the State, the new offence carries two to eight years; altering a high-risk AI system is a separate offence. Article 15 makes companies liable under Legislative Decree 231/2001 for the new offence. Compliance with the AI Act, even if certified, does not by itself exclude liability (Article 19). Police AI systems already contracted, under development or testing, or in use must be brought into line with Chapter II of Title I within one year of entry into force.

Sources

Open the official source https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2026/09/15/26G00179/sg

Secondary source: https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/gazzetta/serie_generale/caricaDettaglio?dataPubblicazioneGazzetta=2026-09-15&numeroGazzetta=214

Local copy

Verification

History

1. 2026-10-17english_version: – → {"kind": "none found"} — no English text of the decree was found2026-10-17-recheck-europe-2 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
2. 2026-10-17notes: Approved in preliminary form by the Council of Ministers on 10 June 2026 (Atto d → Approved in preliminary form by the Council of Ministers on 10 June 2026 and fin — rewritten from the decree text: the final Council of Ministers deliberation (4 Aug 2026) and the opinions obtained added, the heavier penalty and the separate alteration offence, corporate liability (Art. 15) and Art. 19 added; the Atto del Governo number and Senate transmission date removed (no stored file); the cross-reference to IT-03 left to the related field2026-10-17-recheck-europe-2 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
3. 2026-10-17summary: First implementing decree under Law 132/2025. Title I governs police use of AI s → First decree under Article 24 of Law 132/2025 adapting Italian law to the AI Act — checked against the stored decree text and tightened: retrospective facial recognition with judicial authorisation added; the disclosure order covers evidence on how the AI system works in any AI damage action (Art. 17), not only AI Act documentation2026-10-17-recheck-europe-2 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)

Related records

Italian AI Law Italy · In force

EU AI Act European Union · Partially in force

Italy D.Lgs. 179/2026 (AI authorities' powers decree) Italy · Adopted, not yet in force

Citation

Government of Italy (legislative decree adopted under Article 24 of Law 132/2025). Legislative Decree No. 160 of 9 September 2026 adapting national law to Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 on artificial intelligence, concerning the use of AI systems for police activities and civil and criminal liability [Decreto legislativo 9 settembre 2026, n. 160 (GU Serie Generale n. 214 del 15-09-2026; 26G00179)]. 2026-09-09. https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2026/09/15/26G00179/sg. Status: In force; verified 2026-10-17 (level A). Local copy archive/IT-02/2026-10-11/official.html retrieved 2026-10-11 19:16:23 UTC, SHA-256 cca115b60740db536bbd640bf2ed6adec62a36403b39ef44936d1e5d11a2bcee. Every AI Policy Ever, version 1.18 (snapshot 2026-10-18), record IT-02.

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