Tech companies challenge Italy’s Piracy Shield
January 27, 2025
From Branislav Pekic in Rome

The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA Europe) has expressed serious concerns regarding Italy’s Piracy Shield anti-piracy initiative. Under the initiative, copyright holders can flag suspected piracy websites to the Italian media regulator (AgCom), which orders Internet providers to block user access to those sites within 30 minutes.
While ostensibly designed to combat online copyright infringement, the system’s reliance on IP address and DNS blocking, including VPNs and public DNS resolvers, makes it an overly broad and potentially harmful tool, claims CCIA Europe in a letter to the European Commission.
The association, which includes major tech companies such as Google, Amazon and Cloudfare, points out that the expedited 30-minute blocking window, unclear verification procedures, and inadequate redress mechanisms create a high risk of over-blocking legitimate services.
This concern is heightened by the involvement of a company affiliated with a reporting entity (Lega Serie A) in developing the blocking platform, raising potential conflict-of-interest issues.
The recent erroneous blocking of Google Drive in Italy, affecting all Italian users for three hours, starkly demonstrates the system’s flaws and its potential for widespread disruption.
CCIA Europe contends that the Piracy Shield lacks sufficient transparency and safeguards, potentially violating EU regulations such as the Open Internet Regulation and the Digital Services Act, as well as fundamental rights such as freedom of expression.
The association calls for more robust verification, transparency, and redress mechanisms to mitigate the negative impacts of the initiative, noting its misalignment with the European Commission’s recommendations on combating online piracy.