Italy’s communications regulator AGCOM has imposed a €14.2 million fine on Cloudflare, citing failure to comply with national anti-piracy requirements. The decision relates to Cloudflare’s handling of orders issued under Italy’s Piracy Shield system, which requires rapid blocking of online services linked to unauthorised content.
AGCOM said Cloudflare did not act on multiple blocking requests targeting domain names and internet addresses associated with illegal live sports streams and other copyrighted material. Under Piracy Shield rules, providers involved in internet traffic routing or resolution are required to block access within 30 minutes of receiving a verified notification. The regulator stated that Cloudflare’s public DNS service continued to resolve access to flagged sites after orders were issued.
Piracy Shield was introduced to enable rights holders to request near real-time blocking of online piracy, particularly during live sporting events. The system applies to internet service providers, hosting services, and DNS resolvers operating in Italy. AGCOM said Cloudflare fell within the scope of the rules because its services are used by Italian users to access online content.
Cloudflare has disputed the ruling. The company said filtering its public DNS resolver would be technically complex and could affect users beyond Italy. It argued that DNS-based blocking risks disrupting lawful traffic and could undermine the stability and neutrality of internet infrastructure. Cloudflare has also raised concerns about the absence of prior judicial oversight in the Piracy Shield process.
AGCOM rejected those arguments, stating that Cloudflare has the technical capacity to comply with targeted blocking orders without widespread disruption. The regulator said the fine reflects the seriousness of repeated non-compliance and falls within limits allowed under Italian law, which permits penalties of up to 2% of annual turnover for regulatory violations.
Cloudflare has indicated it plans to appeal the decision through the Italian legal system. Company representatives have criticised the enforcement framework and warned that the ruling could affect how global internet services operate within individual national jurisdictions.
The case highlights ongoing tensions between national anti-piracy enforcement and global internet infrastructure providers. Critics of Piracy Shield have warned that rapid blocking mechanisms risk overblocking lawful content and limiting access to information. Supporters argue that the system is necessary to address large-scale copyright infringement that traditional court processes cannot address quickly enough.
Further legal proceedings are expected as Cloudflare challenges the fine. The outcome may influence how similar anti-piracy regimes are applied to international technology companies operating across borders.