# Italy CONSOB Art. 7-octies TUF & ISP Domain Blackout Rules

> Examine Italy’s CONSOB Article 7-octies TUF and Decreto Crescita (Law 58/2019 Art. 36) administrative telecom DNS/IP blackouts against unauthorized brokers.

Canonical: https://eurofirmledger.com/bulletins/italy-consob-article-7-octies-tuf-decreto-crescita-isp-blackout
Last updated: 2026-11-14T21:09:40.417Z

**Publication:** Euro Firm Ledger
**Category:** Bafin Wplg Amf Consob Cnmv Supervision
**Published:** 2026-11-13T22:20:25.915Z
**Author:** Lukas Lindqvist, CEFA (Certified European Financial Analyst (EFFAS/CEFA, Frankfurt & Zurich))
**Reviewer:** Not recorded

## Answer-first summary

Armed with Article 7-octies TUF and Article 36 of Law 58/2019 (Decreto Crescita), Italy’s CONSOB bypasses slow court injunctions to order Italian telecom ISPs to black out abusive broker domains every week.

## Key takeaways

- Under Article 7-octies TUF and Article 36 of Law 58/2019 (Decreto Crescita), Italy’s CONSOB orders telecom ISPs to black out unauthorized financial and crypto websites administratively without needing a prior court warrant.
- CONSOB has blacked out more than 1,150 abusive domains since 2019, redirecting Italian users attempting to load blocked URLs straight to an official CONSOB fraud-warning page.
- Global brokerage groups must hard-block Italian residents and +39 phone numbers on non-EU sister domains—allowing Italian signups on an offshore .com triggers Article 18/166 TUF criminal abusivismo and nationwide ISP blackouts.
- CONSOB Resolutions 20975 and 20976 permanently enforce Italy’s binary-options prohibition and ESMA-aligned retail CFD leverage, NBP, and loss-disclosure mandates.

## Related financial entities

- **European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)** (ESMA) — license: Independent European Union authority contributing to safeguarding the stability of the EU financial system by enhancing investor protection and promoting stable markets.
- **Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (EU) 2023/1114** (EU-MICA) — license: Groundbreaking European regulation establishing uniform requirements for the offer to the public and admission to trading of crypto-assets and licensing of CASPs.
- **MiFID II Cross-Border Passporting Framework** (MIFID2-PASS) — license: Harmonized European framework allowing authorized investment firms to provide investment services across all EU member states and EEA countries.

## Analysis

Among all 30 EEA securities regulators, Italy's **[Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB)](/competent-authorities/consob)** wields the fastest, most prolific digital domain-blocking weapon in Europe: under **Article 7-octies of Legislative Decree No. 58/1998 (*Testo Unico della Finanza*, TUF)**, fortified by **Article 36(2-terdecies) of Decree-Law No. 34/2019 (*Decreto Crescita*, converted into Law No. 58/2019)** and extended to abusive crypto-asset platforms under **Legislative Decree No. 129/2024 (Italy's MiCA Adaptation Decree)**, CONSOB does **not** need a prior civil or criminal court order to take a website offline! By direct administrative resolution published weekly in its *Bollettino*, CONSOB instructs every Italian Internet Connectivity Provider (TIM, Vodafone Italia, Fastweb, WindTre, Iliad) to sinkhole DNS and IP routing to unauthorized investment websites within hours—having blacked out **more than 1,150 domains** since July 2019!

Within our [national conduct interventions guide](/bulletins/bafin-wpig-amf-sapin-2-cnmv-consob-conduct-interventions-2026) and the [national supervision hub](/topics/bafin-wplg-amf-consob-cnmv-supervision), legitimate EEA-passported firms must understand how **clone fraudsters, un-registered offshore sister domains, and defective Italian passport mappings** trigger catastrophic accidental or intentional CONSOB DNS blackouts!

## Legal Architecture of CONSOB's Administrative Blackout Power

Compare why CONSOB blocks 4 to 8 websites *every single week* while peer regulators take months in judicial proceedings:

| Enforcement Element | Italian Statutory Provision | Concrete Operational Mechanism | Contrast With Other EU Jurisdictions |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Substantive Cease-and-Desist** | **Art. 7-octies(1) TUF** (inserted by MiFID II D.Lgs. 129/2017) | CONSOB orders immediate cessation of violations of **Art. 18 TUF** (*riserva di attività* — reserved investment services without a SIM, bank, or [Art. 34/35 EEA passport](/bulletins/mifid-ii-article-34-35-eea-passporting-host-nca-guide-2026)) | Most EU NCAs stop at publishing an non-technical text warning on their website |
| **Direct Telecom ISP Blackout** | **Art. 36(2-terdecies) Law 58/2019** (*Decreto Crescita*) | Direct administrative order to all Italian ISPs to block Italian IP access (Oscuramento siti web) **without prior judicial court warrant** | France ([AMF](/competent-authorities/amf) Art. L. 621-13-5) must petition the Paris Judicial Court first |
| **MiCA Crypto Extension (2024)** | **D.Lgs. 129/2024** implementing [MiCA 2023/1114](/passports/mica-regulation-eu-2023-1114) | Extends identical ISP blackout orders to unauthorized crypto-asset service offers lacking MiCA Art. 59/60/65 authorization! | Closes historical gap between OTC FX clones and unregulated crypto exchanges |
| **Guardia di Finanza Link** | Nucleo Speciale Polizia Valutaria (NSPV) MoU | Parallel criminal referral under **Art. 166 TUF** (*Abusivismo finanziario*: **1 to 8 years' imprisonment**!) | Criminalizes unauthorized solicitation of Italian savers personally |

![CONSOB Article 7-octies TUF and Decreto Crescita administrative telecom ISP domain-blackout workflow in Italy](/api/figure?type=flow&title=Italy%20CONSOB%20Administrative%20ISP%20Blackout%20Pipeline&subtitle=How%20CONSOB%20%26%20Guardia%20di%20Finanza%20take%20unauthorized%20financial%20websites%20offline%20across%20Italy&steps=1.%20Art.%2018%20TUF%20Check%3A%3AVerify%20CONSOB%20Albo%20SIM%20%2F%20EU%20Passport%20%2F%20MiCA%20CASP%20register%7C2.%20Evidence%20Capture%3A%3AItalian%20UI%2C%20%2B39%20call%20center%2C%20or%20Italian%20resident%20onboarding%7C3.%20CONSOB%20Resolution%3A%3AArt.%207-octies%20cease%20order%20%2B%20Decreto%20Crescita%20ISP%20directive%7C4.%20National%20DNS%20Sinkhole%3A%3AItalian%20ISPs%20redirect%20Italian%20IPs%20to%20CONSOB%20warning%20page!&metrics=DOMAINS%20BLOCKED%3A%3A1%2C150%2B%20Sites%3A%3ACumulative%20since%20July%202019%7CCOURT%20WARRANT%3F%3A%3ANot%20Required%3A%3ADirect%20CONSOB%20administrative%20act%7CISP%20EXECUTION%20SLA%3A%3A24%E2%80%9372%20Hours%3A%3ATechnical%20DNS%2Frouting%20propagation%7CCRIMINAL%20ART.%20166%3A%3A1%20to%208%20Years%3A%3AItalian%20Penal%20%2F%20TUF%20abusivismo)

## Crucial Trap for Dual-Entity Groups: Shared .com Offshore Routing!

How can a **legitimately licensed EU MiFID II broker** (for example, holding a Cyprus CIF or German WpIG charter duly notified on CONSOB's *Elenco delle imprese di investimento UE senza succursale*) accidentally get its global .com domain blacked out across all of Italy?
- Suppose a brokerage group operates brand.eu (licensed EU CIF on CONSOB's Article 34 register) alongside brand.com (operated by a Mauritius or St. Vincent sister company offering 500:1 leverage).
- If an Italian user in Milan typing brand.com is allowed to toggle an Italian-language interface and open an account with the Mauritius entity (rather than being hard-redirected by IP/residency to the CONSOB-notified brand.eu MiFID entity!), **the Mauritius operator is committing criminal *abusivismo finanziario* under Article 18 & 166 TUF**—and CONSOB will order every Italian telecom ISP to **black out brand.com nationwide**, triggering an immediate home-NCA reputation crisis and [CySEC Circular C268/C518 inquiry](/topics/cysec-cif-icf-safeguarding-directives)!

## CONSOB Permanent CFD & Binary Options Decisions (Resolutions 20975 & 20976)

For properly authorized Italian banks (such as peers of *UniCredit*), Italian SIMs, and EEA passported firms ([CAPEX.com](/firms/capex), [1Market](/firms/1markets), [Bitpanda](/firms/bitpanda)), CONSOB simultaneously enforces two permanent **MiFIR Article 42** resolutions adopted on **20 June 2019**:
- **Resolution No. 20975**: Permanent 100% prohibition on marketing, distributing, or selling binary options to retail investors in or from Italy; and
- **Resolution No. 20976**: Permanent retail CFD restrictions (30:1–2:1 leverage tiers, 50% per-account margin close-out, per-account Negative Balance Protection, bonus ban, and standardized Italian loss-percentage warnings: *"...% dei conti di investitori al dettaglio perdono denaro..."*).

## Modeling Domain-Clone Detection & Italian Geo-Routing Verification

Legitimate European brokers protect both Italian savers and their own brand equity by running automated daily DNS/Certificate-Transparency (CT) clone scanners and hard .it / Italian-IP geo-routing rules:

```formula
Italian_Art18_TUF_Routing_Compliance_Gate (Incoming_Session_s):
 If (GeoIP(s) == 'IT' OR Browser_Lang(s) == 'it-IT' OR Residency_Selected(s) == 'IT' OR Phone_Prefix(s) == '+39'):
 1) Force_Redirect(s) -> CONSOB_Albo_Notified_EEA_Domain (Verify Albo Registration Number!)
 2) Block_Onboarding_On_All_ThirdCountry_Group_Entities == 100% (Zero Art. 42 reverse-solicitation loophole!)
 3) Apply_CONSOB_Resolution_20976_Retail_Locks (30:1-2:1 caps, 50% close-out, NBP, Zero Bonus)

Expected_Reputational_And_Traffic_Loss_From_Shared_Domain_Blackout:
 Loss_EUR = (Monthly_IT_Organic_Revenue * Months_TAR_Lazio_Appeal) + Group_PSP_Acquirer_Termination_Penalty

Worked Clone-Impersonation Defense ROI (Proactive CONSOB Whistleblowing):
 CT-Log Monitor detects phishing clone "brand-italia-trading[.]com" within 4 hours of SSL issuance
 Legal team files Art. 7-octies clone alert with CONSOB Tutela del Consumatore + Abuse Registrar takedown
 CONSOB adds clone to weekly Decreto Crescita ISP blackout list -> Saves EUR 420,000+ in defrauded Italian saver claims!
```

![Comparison of CONSOB enforcement mechanisms in Italy across ISP domain blackouts, Resolution 20976 CFD rules, Art. 86 passport blocks, and Art. 166 criminal penalties](/api/figure?type=bars&title=Four-Tier%20Italian%20Investor-Protection%20Enforcement%20Stack&subtitle=How%20CONSOB%20and%20Guardia%20di%20Finanza%20escalate%20from%20ISP%20blackouts%20to%20criminal%20TUF%20prosecution&steps=Decreto%20Crescita%20ISP%20Block%3A%3A24-72h%20DNS%2FIP%20blackout%20of%20unlicensed%2Fclone%20domains%7CCONSOB%20Res.%2020975%2F20976%3A%3APermanent%20binary%20ban%20%26%2030%3A1-2%3A1%20retail%20CFD%20locks%7CMiFID%20Art.%2086%20Freeze%3A%3ACONSOB%20precautionary%20ban%20on%20rogue%20EEA%20passported%20firms!%7CArt.%20166%20TUF%20Criminal%3A%3A1%E2%80%938%20yrs%20prison%20%2B%20fines%20via%20Guardia%20di%20Finanza%20NSPV&metrics=APPEAL%20COURT%3A%3ATAR%20Lazio%20%28Rome%29%3A%3A60-day%20administrative%20appeal%7CEEA%20FREEZE%20RECORD%3A%3AArt.%2086%20Pioneer%3A%3ACONSOB%20banned%20rogue%20CIFs%20in%20IT%7CCONSOB%20REGISTER%3A%3AAlbo%20SIM%20%2F%20UE%3A%3APublic%20Delibera%20n.%2020307%20list%7CADR%20OMBUDSMAN%3A%3AACF%20Mandatory%3A%3AFor%20IT%20branches%20%2F%20domestic%20SIMs)

## CONSOB as Europe's Most Aggressive User of MiFID II Article 86 Against EEA Brokers

Remember too that CONSOB does *not* hesitate to strike against **fully licensed EEA passported firms**: when Cyprus-chartered CFD brokers ignored warnings over aggressive Italian call centers and unauthorized tied agents, **CONSOB became the first host NCA in Europe to invoke [MiFID II Article 86 precautionary powers](/bulletins/mifid-ii-article-86-precautionary-powers-host-nca-blocking-2026)**—prohibiting passported EU firms from onboarding any new Italian clients and shutting down their Italian operations!

## Frequently asked questions

### Where can an investment firm challenge a CONSOB Article 7-octies / Decreto Crescita ISP blackout order?

CONSOB blackout resolutions are formal Italian administrative acts appealable exclusively before the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio in Rome (Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale per il Lazio — TAR Lazio) within 60 days of notification or Bollettino publication.

### How do Italian investors verify whether an EEA broker is legally passported into Italy vs a clone?

CONSOB maintains two public online registers under Intermediaries Regulation No. 20307: the "Elenco delle imprese di investimento UE con succursale" (Article 35 Italian branches) and "senza succursale" (Article 34 remote passports), alongside a dedicated "Occhio alle truffe!" clone-warning page.

### Did Italy’s 2024 MiCA Decree give CONSOB the same ISP blackout power over unlicensed crypto exchanges?

Yes! Legislative Decree No. 129 of 5 September 2024 aligned Italian domestic enforcement with Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA), empowering CONSOB (alongside Banca d’Italia within respective competencies) to order ISP blackouts against unauthorized crypto-asset offers targeting Italy.

### Must an Article 35 Italian branch of an EEA broker join Italy’s Arbitro per le Controversie Finanziarie (ACF)?

Yes—intermediaries established in Italy (Italian SIMs, banks, and Article 35 Italian branches of EU investment firms) are subject to mandatory participation in CONSOB’s out-of-court Arbitro per le Controversie Finanziarie (ACF) for retail disputes up to EUR 500,000!


## Source URLs

- https://www.consob.it/web/consob-and-its-activities/warnings
- https://www.consob.it/web/consob-and-its-activities/laws-and-regulations
- https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.legislativo:1998-02-24;58

## Citation

- APA: Lukas Lindqvist, CEFA. (2026). Italy CONSOB Article 7-octies TUF & Decreto Crescita: ISP Website Blackout Powers. Euro Firm Ledger. https://eurofirmledger.com/bulletins/italy-consob-article-7-octies-tuf-decreto-crescita-isp-blackout
- Canonical article: [Italy CONSOB Article 7-octies TUF & Decreto Crescita: ISP Website Blackout Powers](https://eurofirmledger.com/bulletins/italy-consob-article-7-octies-tuf-decreto-crescita-isp-blackout)
- Site research index: [Euro Firm Ledger](https://eurofirmledger.com/llms-full.txt)