The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA Europe) is calling on the European Commission to tackle concerns over anti-piracy measures that are inconsistently applied across the European Union. Recent events in Spain have brought these issues into focus, as internet service disruptions occurred due to overblocking from such measures.
Earlier this year, on January 21, CCIA Europe communicated with the Commission regarding Italy's Piracy Shield. This policy requires internet service providers (ISPs) to block websites, including virtual private networks (VPNs) and public DNS resolvers, within 30 minutes of receiving reports from rightsholders. However, the lack of proper verification and redress mechanisms in the Piracy Shield has resulted in overblocking incidents affecting legitimate services and users. A notable example is a recent nationwide Google Drive outage in Italy.
Moreover, CCIA Europe's letter highlights that amendments to Italian copyright law impose excessive reporting requirements on digital intermediaries, exceeding what is mandated by the EU Digital Services Act (DSA). The organization also points out that Italy did not notify the European Commission about these measures under the TRIS procedure. This omission raises concerns about compliance with EU laws and its implications for free expression and the Single Market.
