Cloudflare Keeps 1.1.1.1 Out of Piracy Blocking, Escapes Penalties In France (torrentfreak.com)
(Friday October 09, 2026 @11:00AM (BeauHD)
from the DNS-stays-open dept.)
- Reference: 0186070120
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/10/08/1948246/cloudflare-keeps-1111-out-of-piracy-blocking-escapes-penalties-in-france
- Source link: https://torrentfreak.com/cloudflare-keeps-1-1-1-1-out-of-piracy-blocking-escapes-penalties-in-france/
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak:
> Cloudflare [1]doesn't block pirate sports streaming sites through its 1.1.1.1 DNS resolver in France , only through its CDN. The Paris Judicial Court has now accepted that stance, rejecting [French pay-TV provider] Canal+'s request for penalties of 50,000 euros per site, per day. Interestingly, the court's conclusion relies on statistics provided by Canal+ itself. [...] As a result, Cloudflare will not be penalized under these orders, even though its public DNS resolver is not blocking the sites in question. That is in line with the company's long-standing claim that it doesn't interfere with its DNS.
>
> In its recent transparency reports, Cloudflare repeatedly stated that it hasn't blocked any content through 1.1.1.1, despite orders from French and Italian courts. "To date, Cloudflare has not blocked content through the 1.1.1.1 Public DNS Resolver," the company's [2]latest report reads. [...] Blocking through the CDN is another matter. According to the same report, Cloudflare geoblocked 1,238 domains in France in the second half of 2025, all under a single court order. In the first half of the year, it geoblocked 662 domains under seven orders. Cloudflare recently explained its position to the European Commission, in [3]a submission (PDF) to its Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List consultation, stressing that global public DNS resolvers should not be used to block or restrict access.
>
> Instead, it highlights its real-time pirate stream blocking program, which allows vetted rightsholders to flag pirate streams that run through its network. These streams are disrupted "within seconds," Cloudflare says, without any DNS or IP address blocking. "For live content, where speed is crucial, Cloudflare has built real-time mitigation mechanisms that allow vetted rightsholder partners to flag infringing streams. When those streams are running through our network, we act on them in seconds," Cloudflare informed the Commission. For now, Cloudflare can continue to block pirate sites through its CDN only, while its 1.1.1.1 DNS resolver remains untouched. Canal+ can still appeal the rulings, so it may not be the last we hear of it.
[1] https://torrentfreak.com/cloudflare-keeps-1-1-1-1-out-of-piracy-blocking-escapes-penalties-in-france/
[2] https://cfl.re/h2-2025-transparency-report-abuse
[3] https://torrentfreak.com/images/Cloudflare_response_to_2027_EU_Watch_List_consultation.pdf
> Cloudflare [1]doesn't block pirate sports streaming sites through its 1.1.1.1 DNS resolver in France , only through its CDN. The Paris Judicial Court has now accepted that stance, rejecting [French pay-TV provider] Canal+'s request for penalties of 50,000 euros per site, per day. Interestingly, the court's conclusion relies on statistics provided by Canal+ itself. [...] As a result, Cloudflare will not be penalized under these orders, even though its public DNS resolver is not blocking the sites in question. That is in line with the company's long-standing claim that it doesn't interfere with its DNS.
>
> In its recent transparency reports, Cloudflare repeatedly stated that it hasn't blocked any content through 1.1.1.1, despite orders from French and Italian courts. "To date, Cloudflare has not blocked content through the 1.1.1.1 Public DNS Resolver," the company's [2]latest report reads. [...] Blocking through the CDN is another matter. According to the same report, Cloudflare geoblocked 1,238 domains in France in the second half of 2025, all under a single court order. In the first half of the year, it geoblocked 662 domains under seven orders. Cloudflare recently explained its position to the European Commission, in [3]a submission (PDF) to its Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List consultation, stressing that global public DNS resolvers should not be used to block or restrict access.
>
> Instead, it highlights its real-time pirate stream blocking program, which allows vetted rightsholders to flag pirate streams that run through its network. These streams are disrupted "within seconds," Cloudflare says, without any DNS or IP address blocking. "For live content, where speed is crucial, Cloudflare has built real-time mitigation mechanisms that allow vetted rightsholder partners to flag infringing streams. When those streams are running through our network, we act on them in seconds," Cloudflare informed the Commission. For now, Cloudflare can continue to block pirate sites through its CDN only, while its 1.1.1.1 DNS resolver remains untouched. Canal+ can still appeal the rulings, so it may not be the last we hear of it.
[1] https://torrentfreak.com/cloudflare-keeps-1-1-1-1-out-of-piracy-blocking-escapes-penalties-in-france/
[2] https://cfl.re/h2-2025-transparency-report-abuse
[3] https://torrentfreak.com/images/Cloudflare_response_to_2027_EU_Watch_List_consultation.pdf
Re: (Score:2)
We need companies with some balls to put technophobic politicians in their place. Don't appeal, just maliciously comply: "Okay, we've blocked all of France. Welcome back to the dark ages."
I'm pleasantly surprised to see a rare sane decision from courts who think their word is physical reality, but this shouldn't even have come up in the first place.