Cloudflare Refuses to Block Pirate Sites on Italian DNS Service, Facing €14.2 Million Fine
In a move that has sparked controversy, Italy's communications regulatory agency, AGCOM, has fined Cloudflare, the world's largest content delivery network (CDN), €14.2 million for refusing to block access to pirate sites on its 1.1.1.1 DNS service.
Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince announced yesterday that his company will "fight the unjust fine" and threatened to remove all of its servers from Italian cities, potentially crippling the country's internet infrastructure.
The fine was issued under Italy's controversial Piracy Shield law, which provides for fines up to 2 percent of a company's annual turnover. The law requires Cloudflare to disable DNS resolution of domain names and routing of traffic to IP addresses reported by copyright holders.
Cloudflare argued that installing a filter applying to the roughly 200 billion daily requests to its DNS system would significantly increase latency and negatively affect DNS resolution for sites that aren’t subject to the dispute over piracy. However, AGCOM rejected Cloudflare's arguments, saying that the required blocking would impose no risk on legitimate websites because the targeted IP addresses were all uniquely intended for copyright infringement.
Researchers have found that Italy's Piracy Shield law has unintended consequences, including "hundreds of legitimate websites unknowingly affected by blocking" and "illegal streamers continuing to evade enforcement by exploiting the abundance of address space online." The report also highlighted concerns about the lack of transparency and due process in the law.
Cloudflare co-founder Matthew Prince took to Twitter to express his frustration with the fine, saying that Italy's Piracy Shield law was a "shadowy European media cabal" trying to dictate what is allowed online. He vowed to challenge the fine and threatened to withdraw Cloudflare's services from Italy, including its pro bono cybersecurity services for the upcoming Milano-Cortina Olympics.
The controversy surrounding Italy's Piracy Shield law has sparked criticism from trade groups, including the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which represents tech companies including Cloudflare and Google. The CCIA argued that the law raises concerns about overblocking and the lack of transparency in the reporting process.
"This is a classic case of censorship gone wrong," said Prince. "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes."
In a move that has sparked controversy, Italy's communications regulatory agency, AGCOM, has fined Cloudflare, the world's largest content delivery network (CDN), €14.2 million for refusing to block access to pirate sites on its 1.1.1.1 DNS service.
Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince announced yesterday that his company will "fight the unjust fine" and threatened to remove all of its servers from Italian cities, potentially crippling the country's internet infrastructure.
The fine was issued under Italy's controversial Piracy Shield law, which provides for fines up to 2 percent of a company's annual turnover. The law requires Cloudflare to disable DNS resolution of domain names and routing of traffic to IP addresses reported by copyright holders.
Cloudflare argued that installing a filter applying to the roughly 200 billion daily requests to its DNS system would significantly increase latency and negatively affect DNS resolution for sites that aren’t subject to the dispute over piracy. However, AGCOM rejected Cloudflare's arguments, saying that the required blocking would impose no risk on legitimate websites because the targeted IP addresses were all uniquely intended for copyright infringement.
Researchers have found that Italy's Piracy Shield law has unintended consequences, including "hundreds of legitimate websites unknowingly affected by blocking" and "illegal streamers continuing to evade enforcement by exploiting the abundance of address space online." The report also highlighted concerns about the lack of transparency and due process in the law.
Cloudflare co-founder Matthew Prince took to Twitter to express his frustration with the fine, saying that Italy's Piracy Shield law was a "shadowy European media cabal" trying to dictate what is allowed online. He vowed to challenge the fine and threatened to withdraw Cloudflare's services from Italy, including its pro bono cybersecurity services for the upcoming Milano-Cortina Olympics.
The controversy surrounding Italy's Piracy Shield law has sparked criticism from trade groups, including the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which represents tech companies including Cloudflare and Google. The CCIA argued that the law raises concerns about overblocking and the lack of transparency in the reporting process.
"This is a classic case of censorship gone wrong," said Prince. "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes."
I'm so done with these new "laws" being passed left and right. Like, what even is the point of fining Cloudflare €14.2 million just because they don't want to block pirate sites? It's not like they're profiting off it or something. And honestly, who thought it was a good idea to require companies to install a filter that would slow down legitimate websites? 
I mean, can we have a conversation about the actual consequences of this law instead of just blaming Cloudflare for being too cautious?
. And those researchers who found the flaws in the law? Good on them for speaking out! Maybe we should be focusing on finding solutions instead of slapping fines on companies that are trying to do what's right. 
. I get why Italy wants to crack down on piracy, but €14.2 million seems like a lot of fines 
. On the other hand, Cloudflare is right that blocking all pirate sites could cause issues with legitimate websites too 
. Maybe instead of just blocking those 200 billion requests, they could find a way to filter out the bad guys without messing up the good ones? 
It's like when you're trying to catch a bad guy, but in doing so, you might accidentally hurt an innocent bystander 
.
. I mean, who does the EU think it is, telling tech companies what they can and can't do? It's time to wake up, Italy... this law needs a serious overhaul 
. €14.2 million fine for refusing to block pirate sites? seems like an overreach to me. what's next? are they gonna start censoring news outlets and social media platforms too? 
also, i'm not buying the 'legitimate websites won't be affected' argument 
. 
. I mean, come on Cloudflare! You're already doing so much to help keep the internet safe and stuff, and now you're being fined for not blocking pirate sites? It's just not fair 
.
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. I mean, I'm not gonna disagree with him on this one - it does sound kinda shady 
. That would be a total bummer for everyone involved 
Italy's gotta go and make it so hard for Cloudflare to block pirate sites on their DNS service... €14.2 million fine? That's bloody insane 
. And what's with the lack of transparency in the reporting process? That's just dodgy 
But at the same time, it's not like they're just enabling piracy willy-nilly. They have to balance that with keeping the site up and running for people who want access.
. And what's up with all the controversy around this law, anyway? It seems like it's causing more problems than it's solving.
instead of just blocking websites w/o due process 
. And Italy's got this law called Piracy Shield that's like, super convoluted and has all these hidden risks 
.
. Sources please! 
. cloudflare's right to challenge this fine tho, but withdrawing services from italy? that could have some major consequences 
And what about all those legit sites that get hurt by mistake? It's not just about pirate sites, it's about protecting all websites from incorrect blocking. The fine is pretty steep too - €14.2 million is a lot of cash 
. Cloudflare is trying to fight this fine, but I hope they don't take it too far and hurt Italy's internet infrastructure 
The law is clearly flawed and it needs to be re-examined ASAP 
and matt prince is totally right in saying this is censorship gone wrong, play stupid games win stupid prizes lol! 
i'm not sure what's more frustrating, the fact that cloudflare got fined or that the ccia isn't doing enough to speak up for them 
. But at the same time, you gotta wonder if this law is even enforceable 
. And let's be real, the lack of transparency in this law is super concerning 
. Anyway, gotta see how this all plays out... 
. And the fact that it could potentially affect legitimate websites is just a major red flag 
. And what about the impact on small businesses and entrepreneurs who might not be able to afford compliance?