Piracy Shield Expands to Target VPNs and DNS Providers

Italy’s controversial Piracy Shield system just got more aggressive. The blocking platform received new powers last week that extend far beyond protecting football matches.

Major Scope Expansion Approved

AGCOM, Italy’s telecom regulator, voted to expand Piracy Shield’s reach to all live content, including movie premieres and TV shows. The system’s infamous 30-minute blocking claim now applies to much more content than before.

The more serious issues concern VPNs, DNS providers, and whoever AGCOM decides to pursue next. These amendments represent a significant escalation in Italy’s anti-piracy efforts.

A quick search for ‘Piracy Shield’ will tell you everything you need to know about how the general population feels about Italy’s blocking system.

VPNs and DNS Services Under Fire

The new rules create troubling requirements for privacy services.

VPN services and publicly available DNS providers must now deploy blocking measures just like ISPs. The requirement to block within 30 minutes applies regardless of a provider’s location or residence.

This means VPN companies operating anywhere in the world could face pressure to comply with Italian blocking orders if they serve Italian users. DNS providers like Cloudflare and Google DNS face similar demands.

The amendments also target “Information Society Service” providers, forcing search engines and other online services to block access using “all necessary technical measures” within 30 minutes.

Opposition Grows Against Overreach

Commissioner Elisa Giomi continues her lonely fight against Piracy Shield within AGCOM itself. She has voted against the platform at every stage for over two years, citing transparency failures and disproportionate use of public resources.

Industry groups aren’t staying quiet either. The Computer & Communications Industry Association, representing tech giants like Amazon, Cloudflare, and Google, appealed to the European Commission earlier this year. The EC’s response highlighted serious concerns about the system’s compatibility with EU law.

Piracy Shield Still Plagued by Problems

Despite the expansion, Piracy Shield’s fundamental problems remain unresolved. The original system has struggled with frequent timeouts, limited IPv4 addresses, and overblocking innocent websites.

The platform continues blocking hundreds of domains every few days, but pirates keep finding workarounds while legitimate services get caught in the crossfire.

Final Thoughts

Italy’s Piracy Shield represents a dangerous precedent for internet freedom. The system’s expansion to target VPNs and DNS providers worldwide shows how anti-piracy measures can quickly spiral into broader censorship tools.

Privacy services that millions rely on for legitimate purposes now face unprecedented pressure from Italian authorities, regardless of where they operate.

For more information on this story, refer to the report from Wired and the article from TorrentFreak.

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