Raffaele Sommese - The Technical Impact of Rapid-Response Blocking: Italy's Piracy Shield

• Raffaele Sommese discusses Italy’s Piracy Shield rapid-response blocking in practice. • Technical impact and measurement of blocking are explored in depth. • Consequences for connectivity include collateral damage and reduced service quality. • Cloudflare and Google blocked, prompting fines and threat of exit from Italy. • Legal framework under AGCOM drives enforcement, with public website for blocked resources. • Expansion to TV and similar anti-piracy moves noted in Spain.

Article Summaries:

• A recent podcast featuring Raffaele Sommese of the University of Twente examines Italy’s “Piracy Shield,” a rapid‑response blocking system that targets infringing content. Sommese and colleagues discuss how the system is deployed, its measurable technical impact, and the collateral damage to internet connectivity. The episode highlights recent escalations, including Cloudflare’s threat to exit Italy after AGCOM fines, and notes the expansion of the shield to television services. Listeners can access the full discussion on RIPE Labs and the RIPE NCC’s AGCOM website for blocked resources, while the podcast is available on major platforms and YouTube.

Sources:

• https://labs.ripe.net/author/alun_davies/raffaele-sommese-the-technical-impact-of-rapid-response-blocking-italys-piracy-shield/