Only for the record, the (of course, and as often happens not possible in practice) Italian norm has nothing to do with credit cards and age verification by the content provider.
It says essentially that phone, TV and internet providers must by default prevent access to some type of contents and that this access can only be unblocked by the subscriber of the contract through an explicit request.
I.e. it is more like a form of Parental Control", and of course the basic issue (since the "not suitable to minors" includes not only pornography, but also violence and other objectionable content) deciding which is which is either impossible or needing to implement some sort of automatic filters that inevitably will tag objectionable contents as "fine" or viceversa block access to perfectly suitable content, in this latter case with obvious consequences to freedom of expression.
The UK has a similar system - agreed between the four main ISPs and the government, rather than legally binding. The code of practice says that subscribers must be forced to make a choice between a filtered or unfiltered internet connection.
It says essentially that phone, TV and internet providers must by default prevent access to some type of contents and that this access can only be unblocked by the subscriber of the contract through an explicit request.
I.e. it is more like a form of Parental Control", and of course the basic issue (since the "not suitable to minors" includes not only pornography, but also violence and other objectionable content) deciding which is which is either impossible or needing to implement some sort of automatic filters that inevitably will tag objectionable contents as "fine" or viceversa block access to perfectly suitable content, in this latter case with obvious consequences to freedom of expression.