HomeTechnologyCloudflare appeals Piracy Shield fine, hopes to kill Italy's site-blocking law

Cloudflare appeals Piracy Shield fine, hopes to kill Italy's site-blocking law

TechnologyMarch 19, 2026
1 min read
Cloudflare appeals Piracy Shield fine, hopes to kill Italy's site-blocking law
Firm says requiring site blocks within 30 minutes breaks core Internet architecture.
Reading Settings

Cloudflare said it has appealed a fine issued by Italy over the company's refusal to block access to websites on its 1.1.1.1 DNS service. The appeal is the latest step in Cloudflare's fight against Italy's Piracy Shield law.

Piracy Shield is "a misguided Italian regulatory scheme designed to protect large rightsholder interests at the expense of the broader Internet," Cloudflare said in a blog post this week. "After Cloudflare resisted registering for Piracy Shield and challenged it in court, the Italian communications regulator, AGCOM, fined Cloudflare... We appealed that fine on March 8, and we continue to challenge the legality of Piracy Shield itself."

Cloudflare called the fine of 14.2 million euros ($16.4 million) "staggering." AGCOM issued the penalty in January 2026, saying Cloudflare flouted requirements to disable DNS resolution of domain names and routing of traffic to IP addresses reported by copyright holders.

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica

Share this article

Related Articles

The Download: metric weaknesses and AI elephant warnings
Jun 296 hours ago

The Download: metric weaknesses and AI elephant warnings

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. The inevitable weakness of metrics There are plent

technologyreview.com7 min read
Read More
The Anti-Data-Center Movement Is Reshaping Michigan Politics
Jun 296 hours ago

The Anti-Data-Center Movement Is Reshaping Michigan Politics

Climate activist Will Lawrence cofounded the Sunrise Movement. Now, he has shifted his focus in his attempt to compete for a swing-district seat by calling for a data center moratorium.

6a3db00dba0b44838affabce6 min read
Read More