As expected, there is a clash over some amendments presented in the Senate as part of the 2025 Competition Bill. What is causing discussion above all are the proposals, put forward by majority parliamentarians, to link telephone bills to inflation. However, other regulations are also worrying as they would open the doors to more aggressive telemarketing and even limit the possibility of compensation for damages for consumers.
Telephone rates indexed to inflation
Among the amendments to the Competition Bill filed at the end of September, the one that would allow telephone operators to automatically increase tariffs every year based on inflation stands out. This indexation clause, signed by some Forza Italia senators (Antonio Trevisi, Adriano Paroli, Dario Damiani) with the support of the League, would allow annual increases equal to the Istat consumer price index, possibly increased by a fixed coefficient indicated in the contract. Telephone operators motivate the measure with the need to compensate for operating costs due to inflation and to finance investments in networks (5G, fibre, etc.).
The main concern, however, concerns the rights of users: the automatic adjustment would not be considered a unilateral modification of the contract, therefore the customer would no longer have the right of free withdrawal in the event of increases. If the law were to pass, subscribers who do not accept the tariff adjustment would not be able to change operator without penalties.
Non-Profit Consumerism and other associations denounce that in this way consumers would be deprived of protection that is currently guaranteed (the possibility of canceling without costs in the face of unilateral changes in conditions). In the past some operators attempted to introduce similar clauses, but Agcom intervened by limiting them and requiring the explicit written consent of users.
Data portability and aggressive telemarketing
Another controversial amendment concerns the use of telephone portability data for commercial purposes. The proposal, signed by senators of the League (Gianluca Cantalamessa, Giorgio Maria Bergesio, Mara Bizzotto), would modify the Electronic Communications Code to allow operators to exploit the information collected when a user changes operator (telephone number, contacts, etc.) in order to propose new offers.
This would only be possible with the user’s prior consent, but according to consumer associations this is a dangerous opening: consent is often extorted with less than transparent practices, and in any case this rule risks fueling “aggressive” telemarketing campaigns.
Currently, the use of the data present in the portability database is prohibited for promotional purposes, precisely to prevent abuse and harassing calls to customers who have requested a change of operator.
The amendment in question, according to consumer associations, could lead to a sort of indirect resale of personal data, exposing users to waves of targeted spam calls when migrating from one operator to another. It would involve reintroducing the infamous win-back, i.e. the insistent offers from the outgoing operator to make the customer desist from withdrawing.
It is no coincidence that from 19 August 2025 Agcom activated the so-called “call blocking”: a new system that allows users to object in advance to unwanted commercial calls by registering in the Opposition Register also for mobile phones.
