Cloudflare, a US-based internet infrastructure company, said it will challenge a €14 million fine issued by Italy’s communications authority over its alleged failure to comply with orders under the country’s Piracy Shield system.
The penalty was imposed by the Authority for Communications, which stated that Cloudflare did not meet requirements to block access to domains and IP addresses linked to copyright infringement. The system requires service providers to restrict access to reported resources within short timeframes, in some cases within 30 minutes of notification.
Cloudflare said it disagrees with the decision and intends to appeal. The company stated that the requested blocking measures would require changes to its public DNS resolver and could affect the performance and reliability of its services. It also said the requirements raise technical and operational concerns.
The dispute follows an order issued in 2025 requiring the company to block access to thousands of domains and IP addresses. Regulators said Cloudflare did not comply with that order and failed to implement the necessary measures within the required deadlines.
According to the authority, the fine reflects the scale of the alleged non-compliance and the role of the company’s infrastructure in enabling access to targeted content. The penalty represents about 1% of Cloudflare’s global turnover, within the limits set by law.
Cloudflare has said its services are designed to route internet traffic rather than host or control content. The company indicated that it is reviewing further steps as part of its response, including the legal challenge to the decision.
The Piracy Shield system was introduced in 2023 to enable rapid blocking of online sources distributing copyrighted material, particularly live-streamed content. The case is expected to proceed through the appeals process as Cloudflare contests the regulator’s findings.