Mar 19, 2026 11:51:00

Cloudflare has appealed a fine of approximately 2.6 billion yen, criticizing Italy's anti-piracy shield as 'endangering the open internet.'

Cloudflare was fined €14.2 million (approximately ¥2.6 billion) by Italian regulators in January 2026 for failing to comply with Italy's '

Piracy Shield' and its blocking of access to pirated services. In response, Cloudflare criticized the Piracy Shield, stating that it 'endangers the open internet,' and announced that it had appealed the ruling.

Standing up for the open Internet: why we appealed Italy's 'Piracy Shield' fine
https://blog.cloudflare.com/standing-up-for-the-open-internet/

Cloudflare Challenges Legality of Italy's 'Piracy Shield', Appeals €14 Million Fine * TorrentFreak
https://torrentfreak.com/cloudflare-challenges-legality-of-italys-piracy-shield-appeals-e14-million-fine/

In December 2023, Italy passed a law mandating the participation of all ISPs, public DNS servers, and VPN services in a site blocking scheme called 'Piracy Shield.' Piracy Shield aims to address live streaming piracy in real time by blocking the IP addresses of illegal sites within 30 minutes of a rights holder reporting a violation with evidence.

However, because the anti-piracy shield immediately blocks targeted IP addresses despite insufficient checks, in the past, domains and IP addresses included in Cloudflare were mistakenly blocked, resulting in problems where multiple school websites, telecommunications companies, and ticketing services became inaccessible.

Google Drive was unusable for over 12 hours due to a mistake in domain blocking as part of copyright infringement prevention measures - GIGAZINE

For these reasons, when Cloudflare received a court order to block access to pirated services from its public DNS resolver '1.1.1.1', it accepted the 'blocking of access to pirated websites' itself, but objected to the interference with '1.1.1.1'. Cloudflare countered that 'filtering would affect billions of queries per day and slow down service for legitimate users worldwide due to network delays,' but the Italian regulatory authority AGCOM argued that 'they should have the technical expertise and resources' and decided to fine Cloudflare €14,247,698 (approximately 2.6 billion yen) for failing to comply with the necessary anti-piracy measures.

Cloudflare faces a 2.6 billion yen fine from Italian regulators for refusing to block pirated websites with its public DNS resolver '1.1.1.1' - GIGAZINE

Cloudflare announced on March 16, 2026, that it had formally appealed AGCOM's ruling. Cloudflare stated, 'The fine is high, but the principle at issue is much larger. This lawsuit is not just about fines; it's about whether a few private companies can prioritize their own economic interests over the interests of internet users by forcing the world's infrastructure providers to shut down large areas of the internet without oversight, transparency, and due process.'

Cloudflare also described the anti-piracy shield as 'a crude tool for rights holders to control the content available on the internet without using any conventional legal protections,' and pointed out that it is a 'black box' lacking judicial oversight, transparency, and due process. They also stated that the lack of remedy for those involved in cases of erroneous blocking is a problem.

Cloudflare also criticized the anti-piracy shield, stating that it 'clearly prioritizes the economic interests of media companies over the rights of Italian internet users.' Furthermore, Cloudflare pointed out that the fine imposed by AGCOM on Cloudflare was nearly 100 times the legal limit, as the ruling interpreted it as 2% of worldwide sales, whereas under Italian law, the maximum fine would be 2% of domestic sales, or '140,000 euros (approximately 25 million yen).' Cloudflare concluded by saying that 'if you question a flawed regulatory system or try to protect the rights of users and the global internet, you risk facing punitive and excessive financial retaliation.'

Cloudflare stated, 'We recognize that rights holders have a legitimate interest in protecting their content. However, such interests do not undermine the basic requirements of due process or the technical integrity of the global internet and our network. We will continue to address this issue through the Italian courts and the European Commission. Global connectivity should not be governed by a 'black box' that results in widespread and excessive blocking with a short 30-minute deadline and no remedy. Cloudflare remains committed to building a better internet where the rules are transparent, regulators are accountable, and the infrastructure that connects the world is free, open, and secure.'