What is Italy's Piracy Shield law?

Piracy Shield is an Italian law designed to combat piracy, particularly live sports events, by requiring network operators to block infringing domain names and IP addresses rapidly.

What are Cloudflare's main concerns about Piracy Shield?

Cloudflare warns that Piracy Shield leads to widespread overblocking of legitimate websites, lacks transparency and due process, and is incompatible with EU law.

Home / Technology / Cloudflare Fights Italian Piracy Law Fine

Cloudflare Fights Italian Piracy Law Fine

Q: Why did Italy fine Cloudflare 14.2 million euros?

Italy fined Cloudflare for refusing to block access to websites via its 1.1.1.1 DNS service, as required by the Piracy Shield law.

19 Mar

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Summary

Cloudflare appealed a 14.2 million euro fine from Italy.
The company challenges Italy's Piracy Shield law.
Cloudflare warns Piracy Shield causes widespread overblocking.

Cloudflare Fights Italian Piracy Law Fine

Cloudflare is contesting a hefty 14.2 million euro ($16.4 million) fine issued by Italy's communications regulator, AGCOM, in January 2026. The penalty stems from Cloudflare's refusal to block access to websites via its 1.1.1.1 DNS service, a requirement under Italy's Piracy Shield law.

The company has appealed this fine, which it calls 'staggering,' arguing that Piracy Shield is an "unsupervised electronic portal" that enables overblocking without due process. Cloudflare asserts the fine should have been capped at 140,000 euros ($161,000), based on Italian earnings, rather than its global revenue.