Mar 22, 2025 14:00:00

Italy demands Google disable DNS to curb illegal Serie A streaming under anti-piracy law

The Italian telecommunications regulator

AGCOM has filed a lawsuit against Google for failing to block illegal streaming of soccer matches in a Milan court, ordering Google to disable its public DNS servers immediately.

Italy demands Google poison DNS under strict Piracy Shield law - Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/03/italian-court-orders-google-to-block-iptv-pirate-sites-at-dns-level/

In Italy, the illegal distribution of Serie A soccer matches has been a problem for many years. In Italy, the distribution of this type of pirated content is prohibited by law, but Google provides a public DNS service to users who distribute pirated content, so AGCOM is suing Google, claiming that 'Google is not complying with the law.'

However, blocking content via DNS means blocking the entire domain, which some have criticized as excessive. Indeed, in 2024, an Italian Internet Service Provider (ISP) had to temporarily block the entire Google Drive domain after someone used it to share copyrighted content.

Technology media Ars Technica explains that AGCOM's blocking of pirated content is 'the same technique known as DNS cache poisoning or spoofing attacks , which involve changing DNS records so that people who type in a domain name aren't routed to the correct IP address.'

AGCOM Commissioner Massimiliano Capitanio congratulated the Milan court on its decision on LinkedIn , saying: 'The judge has recognised the value of AGCOM's research and once again given legitimacy to a system of copyright protection which is unique in the world.'

Capitanio also complained that Google ignores the AGCOM list of pirate sites, noting that 'by law, sites on the list are supposed to be blocked within 30 minutes.'

A similar lawsuit against Cloudflare has been filed in Italy, where a Milan court ruled in January 2025 that Cloudflare's CDN and DNS servers, as well as the WARP VPN, facilitate copyright infringement. The court warned that Cloudflare would be fined up to 10,000 euros (approximately 1.6 million yen) per day if it did not start blocking sites.

While AGCOM is struggling to get Google to acknowledge its legal obligations in Italy, the company could face similar sanctions as Cloudflare.