📰 New article from TorrentFreak
Google Opposes Site Blocking in Europe as U.S. Piracy Blocking Plans Gain Momentum
Google is drawing a line in the sand: stop trying to block pirate sites via DNS and IP addresses. The tech giant recently filed a confidential (but leaked) submission to the European Commission, arguing that these broad blocking measures are not just ineffective, but actively dangerous to the open web.
The core of Google’s complaint is that blocking DNS resolvers or IP addresses is like trying to stop a flood with a sieve. It’s easily circumvented, but the collateral damage is severe. Google points to real-world disasters in Italy and Portugal, where court-ordered blocks inadvertently took down Google Drive, Cloudflare servers, and Cisco services. In one instance, over 42 million legitimate domains were caught in the crossfire. As Google bluntly puts it, courts shouldn’t act as mere “mailboxes” for rightsholders rubber-stamping blocking demands.
Why does this matter? Because momentum is shifting toward the U.S., where lawmakers are actively debating similar site-blocking legislation. With the Supreme Court ruling that ISPs aren’t liable for user piracy, legislators are looking for new tools. While Google hasn’t officially weighed in on the U.S. bills yet, its stance is clear: blocking is a blunt instrument that harms innocent users.
The real solution, Google argues, isn’t enforcement—it’s convenience. If legal streaming were more affordable and accessible, piracy would naturally decline. Until then, blocking infrastructure just breaks the internet for everyone else.