Piracy Shield is an advanced technological system developed to counter the spread of copyrighted content through streaming and file sharing platforms. Designed to block access in real time to sites and services that illegally offer films, TV series, sporting events and other protected content, Piracy Shield acts as a network-level filter, preventing users from reaching these unauthorized resources. The operation of Piracy Shield is based on a DNS (Domain Name System) blocking mechanism, activated upon indication of the competent authorities, such as AGCOM (Communications Guarantee Authority) in Italy. When a site or service is identified as distributing copyright-infringing content, authorities can order Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to those domains through Piracy Shield.The system operates in real time, ensuring immediate intervention when a violation is detected. This dynamic approach aims to render ineffective the practices of so-called “peckers”, devices or applications that allow illegal access to paid content. In a recent interview Massimiliano Capitanio, Agcom Commissioner, stated That”Piracy is not a Robin Hood phenomenon, it is a business managed by organized crime which steals around 2 billion euros from the country every year and causes tens of thousands of jobs to be lost. The use of pirated content also gives rise to the theft of personal data which the underworld then uses to carry out scams, to access current accounts, to access home automation, as law enforcement agencies such as the Police have officially said on several occasions. Finance and the State Police. Agcom began to combat piracy about 10 years ago and we remember that for about 25 years Italy was on a sort of blacklist of countries that did not adopt suitable tools to combat the phenomenon of piracy. Between 2013 and 2014, the first regulation was introduced which allowed approximately 4 thousand internet addresses and therefore sites and portals that distributed pirated content to be obscured in 10 years. The method was that permitted by the legislation at the time, i.e. the adoption of precautionary procedures which could lead to the disabling order in around 3-5 days. The fundamental innovation of Piracy Shield is indeed the platform, but it is the complex, the combined provision between the law approved in Parliament in July 2023 and the Agcom regulation. Thanks to the so-called dynamic injunctions, which are the real regulatory innovation that has placed Italy at the forefront in the world with this best practice, you can disable portals within 30 minutes. In these first months of Piracy Shield testing, some procedures were successful within 5-10 minutes. In the first 6 months of testing the platform, something like 23 thousand IP and FQDN addresses were disabled, 23 thousand compared to the approximately 4 thousand that had been disabled in the previous 10 years.”
Lately, the activation of Piracy Shield led to the temporary blocking of Google Drive, one of the most used cloud storage services in the world. The measure was adopted because some users were exploiting the platform to illegally share copyrighted content. However, the block involved the entire Google Drive domain, causing disruptions even to users who used the service legitimately.
This event raised important questions regarding the effectiveness and impact of Piracy Shield, highlighting the need to balance the fight against piracy with respect for the rights of users and legal platforms. AGCOM and other relevant authorities are committed to finding effective solutions to combat piracy without harming legitimate users. This means working more closely with online platforms to identify and remove illegal content at its source, rather than applying blanket blocking. Companies like Google are working to improve their content control and moderation systems to prevent misuse of their platforms and ensure compliance with copyright laws.
Image credits DALL-E