Cloudflare fined in Italy for refusing to block pirate sites on 1.1.1.1 DNS

Italy’s communications regulator fined Cloudflare 14.2 million euros for refusing to block access to pirate sites on its 1.1.1.1 DNS service, and Cloudflare said it will fight the penalty while considering pulling servers and services from Italy.
Cloudflare fined in Italy for refusing to block pirate sites on 1.1.1.1 DNS
A What happened
Italy’s communications regulatory agency AGCOM fined Cloudflare 14.2 million euros for refusing to block access to pirate sites on Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 DNS service. Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince said Cloudflare will fight the fine and said the company is considering actions that include removing all servers from Italian cities and discontinuing certain free and pro bono cybersecurity services in Italy. AGCOM said the fine was issued under Italy’s Piracy Shield law and tied to a blocking order issued to Cloudflare in February 2025. AGCOM said Piracy Shield disabled over 65,000 domain names and about 14,000 IP addresses in the past two years, and a September 2025 researcher report said blocking had affected hundreds of legitimate websites.

Key insights

  • 1

    Cloudflare threatened service and infrastructure pullback in Italy: Matthew Prince said Cloudflare is considering removing all servers from Italian cities and discontinuing certain free and pro bono cybersecurity services in Italy while challenging the fine.

  • 2

    Piracy Shield blocking has been reported to affect legitimate services: Researchers reported hundreds of legitimate websites affected by blocking, and the CCIA cited an October 2024 incident in which Google Drive was mistakenly blocked in Italy.

  • 3

    Industry groups criticized Piracy Shield’s verification and redress processes: The CCIA said the 30-minute blocking window limits careful verification and said verification procedures and redress mechanisms are unclear or lacking.

Takeaways

Cloudflare faces a 14.2 million euro AGCOM fine under Italy’s Piracy Shield law and is challenging the penalty while weighing withdrawal of servers and services from Italy.

Topics

Technology & Innovation Cybersecurity World & Politics Policy & Regulation

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