tech
Cloudflare defies Italy’s Piracy Shield, won’t block websites on 1.1.1.1 DNS
Italy fines Cloudflare 14M euros for not blocking pirate sites on 1.1.1.1 DNS service.
TL;DR
- Italy fined Cloudflare 14.2 million euros for refusing to block pirate sites on its 1.1.1.1 DNS service.
- The fine was issued under Italy's Piracy Shield law, which mandates blocking access to copyright-infringing sites.
- Cloudflare argues that blocking would increase latency and affect legitimate websites.
- AGCOM rejected Cloudflare's arguments, stating targeted IP addresses were solely for copyright infringement.
- Concerns exist about the Piracy Shield law causing overblocking and affecting legitimate websites, as previously noted in a September 2025 report.
- Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince stated the company will fight the fine and is considering removing servers from Italy and discontinuing services.
- The Piracy Shield law, adopted in 2024, aims to block piracy-related domains and IPs within 30 minutes.
- Trade groups like CCIA and Italian ISP associations have criticized the Piracy Shield law for potential overblocking and lack of due process.
- Google Drive was reportedly mistakenly blocked by the Piracy Shield system in October 2024.
- Concerns have been raised about a potential conflict of interest as the Piracy Shield platform was developed by a company affiliated with Lega Serie A.