Following a statement that Italy’s all-new anti-piracy system had received top marks from telecoms regulator AGCOM for “working perfectly,” on Saturday the truth came out in all its glory.

Piracy Shield has only been fully operational for a few weeks. So, expecting it to work flawlessly, right out of the box, was always unrealistic. There have been reports of unexpected behavior in the ticketing system, for example, plus other issues one might describe as relatively normal for a new system, or at least non-critical.

But while any unexpected behavior needs to be understood, the Piracy Shield system, i.e software, hardware, and sundry biological components, arguably had just one job to perform perfectly in its first month. Through meticulous care, prove the naysayers wrong by not blocking innocent sites and staying away from CDNs. A single IP address blocked in error can do damage anywhere but, on a platform such as Cloudflare, problems can multiple extremely quickly.

Like a Moth to a Flame

As reported less than two weeks ago, the first issue to cause elevated public concern was the blocking of Zenlayer CDN IP addresses . During the first two weeks in the public spotlight, that wasn’t ideal or even an isolated incident.

When AGCOM and anti-piracy group FAPAV turned up on TV recently to announce an expansion of Piracy Shield blocking, the system was said to be “working perfectly” while reports to the contrary were labeled “fake news.”

But even before those statements had time to fully sink in, along came Saturday afternoon, otherwise known as ‘TTFN CDN’.

AS13335 Cloudflare – IP: 188.114.97.7

Around 16:13 on Saturday, an IP address within Cloudflare’s AS13335 , which currently accounts for 42,243,794 domains according to IPInfo, was targeted for blocking. Ownership of IP address 188.114.97.7 can be linked to Cloudflare in a few seconds, and doubled checked in a few seconds more.

The service that rightsholders wanted to block was not the IP address’s sole user. There’s a significant chance of that being the case whenever Cloudflare IPs enter the equation; blocking this IP always risked taking out the target plus all other sites using it.

Why blocking went ahead anyway has no good answers; from didn’t check and don’t understand to oops, too late… , how it managed to traverse the claimed checks and balances defies logic. Giorgio Bonfiglio , Principal Technical Account Manager at Amazon Web Services, warned of this specific risk last year. Some of the best advice available, pro bono , yet simply ignored.

“When I talked about the risks of the Piracy Shield last year I focused on the impossibility for an external observer to understand whether an IP is shared or not. I never expected they would block one of the top 5 CDNs in the world, an AS that does ONLY that,” Bonfiglio wrote .

Block Party Erupts

On February 2, 2024, developer Marco d’Itri (aka rfc1036 ) published a pearl of wisdom on Twitter. On Saturday, a little over three weeks later, he was the first to publicly confirm that what shouldn’t have happened, had obviously happened, to the surprise of no one.

Reports of sites suddenly going offline came in quickly. The IP address block went live at 16:13 and by 16:31, Italy was already covered head to foot in black spots indicating no connectivity (Source: RIPE via @auguzanellato ) .

EU citizens’ right to receive and impart information without interference often enters site-blocking discussions. Such concerns were waved away in Italy because the above would never be allowed to happen.

Communication to the Public, By The Public

On X, @handymenny quickly pinpointed the source of his initial connectivity problem, and then went on to discover he was more affected than first thought. That appeared to pique his curiosity, so he decided to find out who else had been blocked.

His discoveries included the ODV Prison Volunteers Association , a charitable group with a key goal of improving communication between prisoners and their families. Elimobile.it , a telecoms company that relies on people communicating so that they a) buy SIM cards and b) can access Elimobile’s video services, was also blocked.

Several schools also suffering downtime is not just a terrible look. The laws and regulations passed last year that authorize rapid blocking include a mandatory educational component for kids. If anyone can think of a statement that will resonate with kids, to explain why preventing football piracy has a negative effect on education, answers on a blackboard please.

Block Quietly Removed, But That Won’t Be Enough

Around five hours after the blockade was put in place, reports suggest that the order compelling ISPs to block Cloudflare simply vanished from the Piracy Shield system. Details are thin, but there is strong opinion that the deletion may represent a violation of the rules, if not the law.

Another legal aspect of potential interest involves a general principle of EU law, one that requires authorities to strike a balance between the means used and the intended aim when exercising their powers.

IT enthusiast Ernesto Castellotti wasted no time deciding his course of action. Since his website was also unlawfully blocked on Saturday, he’s sent a civil access request to AGCOM demanding all information held on file to show why that happened. He’s also calling for the immediate resignation of the head of AGCOM “for demonstrated negligence in the implementation of the Piracy Shield project.”

As far as we’re aware, there has been no formal comment from AGCOM on Saturday’s disaster.

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Note: An earlier version of this article reported on a Bonfiglio tweet which appeared to estimate the number of sites potentially blocked on Saturday. We’re informed the tweet used an Italian phrase that simply suggests a very large number. The direct translation lacked nuance and has since been removed.

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

In 1990 the German won the World Cup in Rome but he had already won plenty of hearts further north in Milan

By Richard Hall for The Gentleman Ultra

For Giuseppe Bergomi it was just too much. As the Italian paid tribute to his friend and former Inter teammate, Andi Brehme, the emotion got the better of him. His usual unflappable confidence and calmness disappeared, he hid his chiselled jawline behind his hands and sobbed. “I can only say that he was a true friend and teammate, a great person both on and off the pitch,” said Bergomi . “We had a special friendship. I was very close to him. We will miss him a lot.”

Brehme’s death at the age of 63 came as a shock and led to tributes from across the world. This was the footballer who scored the goal that gave West Germany victory over Argentina in the World Cup final in 1990. Everybody knew him for that penalty in Rome and, of course, as one of the “Three Germans” at Inter in an era that is now long gone but so well remembered. He enjoyed great success at Kaiserslautern and Bayern Munich, winning league titles with both German clubs, but Inter fans will find his passing especially hard to bear. He encapsulated a golden era in Italy, where Inter stood tall in a league of superstars.

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To a background of seemingly unstoppable corporate and political momentum, challenging the introduction of Italy’s much-heralded pirate IPTV blocking system was always a long shot.

In April 2023, months before the legal foundations were finally set in stone, a trade group that represents the interests of small to medium-sized ISPs, sent a memorandum to the authorities detailing its concerns.

President of Assoprovider, Giovanni Zorzoni, said he feared the proposed blocking system would introduce a single susceptible ‘point of failure’ with the potential to undermine national infrastructure.

The ‘Mega-Firewall‘ of Italy, as he described it, could also expose ISPs to liability and that would mean end users picking up the bill. When the proposals became law, Zorzoni raised the alarm once again on behalf of smaller ISPs, warning that ‘Piracy Shield’ implementation costs could reach 300,000 euros per year, per ISP.

Assoprovider’s Legal Challenge

With Zorzoni’s warnings of potential job losses in the sector falling on deaf ears, last October Assoprovider launched a legal challenge against the regulations underpinning the introduction of the Piracy Shield system and their implementation by telecoms regulator AGCOM.

The Regional Administrative Court for Lazio published its 47-page judgment this week. Assoprovider was always likely to face an uphill battle and those that came out in opposition ensured that was the case, and then some.

The ISP organization knew it had to take on AGCOM but then came the interventions; local anti-piracy group FAPAV backed by powerful international entertainment industries, top tier football league Serie A, and Serie B for good measure.

Court Rejects Challenge

In broad terms, the court found that the regulations were put in place for the protection of copyright and since that goal is in the public interest, the Piracy Shield system will indeed go ahead. Concerns that mistakes will inevitably get made as rightsholders scramble to block pirate platforms within 30 minutes, were dismissed.

The court said that the 30-minute deadline had been put in place for a reason; football matches and other sporting events are relatively short, so any violations of intellectual property rights must be tackled quickly to ensure the system is effective.

The fact that the Piracy Shield system was donated to AGCOM by Serie A, the football league likely to benefit most from the new anti-piracy regime, wasn’t considered an issue either. Serie A’s ‘donation’ of the platform will ultimately benefit everyone according to the league; the Court found no grounds to disagree on that matter or indeed any of the objections raised in Assoprovider’s challenge.

Court “Demolished” The Appeal

Anti-piracy group FAPAV welcomed the Court’s decision, describing it as “an important step for the protection of copyright and the fight against online piracy, especially for live content.” FAPAV said the judgment reinforces the legitimacy of the anti-piracy system, which is “fully compatible” with the constitutional and European legislative frameworks.

“Assoprovider’s appeal had no grounds as there are no real dangers for providers in carrying out the new procedure, furthermore the platform has been positively tested in the previous months,” FAPAV added.

Luigi De Siervo, CEO of Serie A, said the judgment “demolishes Assoprovider’s appeal” and shows that Serie A’s donation of Piracy Shield was “perfectly legitimate and will act to the benefit of the entire system.” Piracy Shield will block pirate streams within 30 minutes as planned, De Siervo said, despite this detour through the Court.

“We have also thwarted the latest attempt by the ‘usual crafty people’ to block the entry into action of the anti-piracy platform. We expect that, after months of waiting, the ‘machine to machine’ system will finally come into operation in February, which will allow pirate sites reported by rights holders to be quickly interrupted,” the Serie A chief added.

The judgment of the Lazio court is available here (pdf)

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

The Inter No 10, mocked for claiming ‘I’m not far off De Bruyne or Modric’, is starring – and scoring – in a new midfield role

This was supposed to be a tricky week for Inter, going away to the champions Napoli after playing in Portugal on Wednesday night. Having led Serie A for most of this season, they were overtaken on Friday by the same Juventus team that had held them to a draw the previous Sunday. The only path back to the top was to win at a ground where they had done that once in their last 17 league visits.

No problem. Hakan Calhanoglu broke the deadlock before half-time, Nicolò Barella added a second close to the hour mark and Marcus Thuram sealed a 3-0 victory . The night ended with the Frenchman twirling his Inter shirt over his head: an homage to the iconic celebration of his idol Adriano after a Milan derby-winning goal back in December 2005.

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• German champions see off Heidenheim 4-2 in Bundesliga
• England captain’s double takes him to 21 Bayern goals

Harry Kane scored twice in Bayern Munich’s 4-2 victory over Heidenheim on Saturday to lift them into top spot in the Bundesliga while extending his own record-breaking scoring run in Germany.

Kane, who has scored 21 goals in 15 matches in the Bundesliga and Champions League for Bayern, opened his account in the 14th minute with a superb turn and shot in the box. The England captain struck again with a powerful header a minute before the break to become the first player in Bundesliga history to score 17 goals in the first 11 matchdays of a season.

This story will be updated

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• England captain breaks club record with latest goals
• Milan overcome Verona in Serie A after hailstorm delay

Harry Kane scored a hat-trick in Bayern Munich ’s 7-0 demolition of VfL Bochum on Saturday to take his league goal tally to seven and set a club record for most goals by a player in his first five Bundesliga matches.

Kane’s three goals put him above club great Gerd Müller, Miroslav Klose and Mario Mandzukic, who all scored five times in their first five games. The Bavarians, who beat Manchester United 4-3 in their Champions League opener on Wednesday , move up to 13 points in top spot from five Bundesliga games. Bayer Leverkusen, on 10, could join them if they beat Heidenheim on Sunday.

This roundup will update later on Saturday

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Heaviest Milan derby win since 1974 from new-look Inter suggests Scudetto and European dreams can become reality

Stefano Pioli was not so much seeing his glass half-full on Saturday night, as clutching an empty tumbler and reminiscing about the wine that used to be in there before the neighbours came round and drank it all. “In the first four minutes, only we touched the ball,” asserted the Milan manager at the end of Saturday’s derby against Inter. The only problem, a detail really, was everything that happened throughout the 86 that followed.

Inter took the lead in the fifth minute, Henrikh Mkhitaryan redirecting a ball from Federico DiMarco back across Mike Maignan. They doubled their lead before half-time with a spectacular goal from Marcus Thuram, who retrieved an overhit pass outside the left corner of the box then cut back inside Malick Thiaw to fire a rocket into the furthest part of the goal.

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It’s hard to say how many times the movie, music, and more recently live sports industries have survived imminent piracy-inflicted apocalypses. They have though, possibly since those issuing the warnings usually have ideas about how to prevent them.

More often the solution lies in new legislation that allows rightsholders to do something the law currently disallows. The proposals can be radical but to a background of industry X or Y disappearing overnight with the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs, urgency is always part of the equation.

This June, as Italian lawmakers were preparing to pass radical IPTV blocking legislation, DAZN publicly urged lawmakers to speed up the process. DAZN reminded them that since piracy steals €800,000 from live sports every single day, live ‘dynamic’ nationwide blocking needed to be implemented without delay.

The law was passed on July 14 and telecoms regulator AGCOM later declared “perfect synchrony” with the measures going into force August 8, just 11 days before the start of the new Serie A football championship.

100 Pirate Services Identified, None Blocked

Articles in Italian media marked out August 8 as a day to remember. Not only would pirate IPTV services face sudden blocking, people who simply bought pirate IPTV packages risked a 5,000 euro fine under new law.

According to a report in La Repubblica , what actually happened on August 8 amounted to almost nothing at all. While the blocking system identified around “100 violations,” no pirate services or streams were blocked.

One explanation for the absence of blocking notes that the parties responsible for blocking are required to have a “technical roundtable” to finalize details before any blocking can take place. That’s accurate and also makes perfect sense; any overblocking would be a PR disaster. However, some fingers also point towards parliament for not passing the law sooner.

A less generous read suggests that most of the technical work should’ve preceded the blocking demands themselves, with tested capability guiding any permission to block. Some also argue that when parliament took an extra four weeks to pass the law, that was also another month to get things ready. Unfortunately, developing software without knowing the details up front rarely goes well and in any event, the delay is clearly going to be longer than four weeks.

Might Be Ready in October

Ultimately, the situation seems easily summed up; lawmakers delivered urgently and, for whatever reason, the blocking parties aren’t ready. La Repubblica reports that the technical table is scheduled for the first week of September, a month after the law came into force, and the results of that may be known “as early as the beginning of October.”

Or to express that in DAZN terminology: a minimum €48,000,000 delay.

Still, a source familiar with the so-called ‘anti-pezzotto’ blocking platform told Key4Biz that the delay is necessary, partially for security reasons.

Italy’s National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) will reportedly beef up the system’s security because “it will certainly be subject to cyber-attacks commissioned by the criminals who manage illegal IPTVs.”

If that has already happened to similar blocking systems elsewhere in the world, nothing has been reported in public. That being said, it would make for controversial headlines if pirates suddenly acquired superior blocking capabilities than those being prepared for their rivals.

“The platform is insane and will solve digital piracy and will be used from late September/early October,” the Key4Biz source added.

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Over the past two decades, pirate sites and services frequented by millions of users have been shut down following legal action. No longer useful for spreading files, many were repurposed to spread fear.

In the wake of Hollywood’s 2005 win at the U.S. Supreme Court, the website of file-sharing service Grokster was transformed into a personalized warning. Anyone visiting the site saw their own IP address alongside a message claiming it had been logged. “Don’t think you can’t get caught. You are not anonymous,” the message added.

Variations on this theme have since appeared on dozens of platforms, most famously via an MPA campaign that declared “You can click but you can’t hide.” These messages were designed to instill fear and uncertainty but didn’t lead to any notable action against those who viewed them. Until now, at least.

Italy’s War on IPTV Pirates Hits The Streets

Most top-tier copyright holders avoid targeting consumer-level pirates, mainly because the optics aren’t great. No matter how carefully targets are chosen, suing someone’s grandma is terrible PR and even when things go smoothly, results are limited.

Today’s general consensus is that hitting site operators is much more effective but whenever the opportunity appears, undermining user confidence should be part of the strategy. Italian police have been following the same model by shutting down pirate IPTV services ( 1 , 2 , 3 ) and warning users they’re up next.

No Bluff: Police Tracked IPTV Subscribers

Letters recently sent to homes in Italy reveal that police were not bluffing. A copy letter obtained by Iilsole24ore identifies the send as the Nucleo Speciale Tutela Privacy e Frodi Tecnologiche , a Guardia di Finanza unit specializing in IT-related crime. It refers to an anti-IPTV police operation in May.

The operation targeted around 500 pirate IPTV resources including websites and Telegram channels. At the time, police also reported that 310+ pieces of IPTV infrastructure, including primary and balancing servers distributing illegal streams, were taken offline.

Police also claimed that a tracking system made it possible to identify the users of the pirate streams. The letter suggests extraordinary and potentially unprecedented tactics.

“Italy’s ISPs Redirected National Traffic”

The letters state that Italian authorities were able to track the IPTV users by “arranging for the redirection of all Internet service providers’ national connections” so that subscribers placed their orders on a police-controlled server configured to record their activity.

In comments to Iilsole24ore, Gian Luca Berruti, head of investigations at the Guardia di Finanza, describes the operation as “decisive” in the fight against cybercrime. Currently deployed to Italy’s National Cybersecurity Agency, Berruti references “innovative investigative techniques” supported by “new technological tools.”

Technical details are not being made public, but it’s claimed that IPTV users were tracked by “tracing of all connections to pirate sites (IPs) combined, in real-time,” and “cross-referencing telematic information with that derived from the payment mechanisms used.”

The police operation in May was codenamed Operazione:Dottor Pezzotto . A Telegram channel with exactly the same branding suffered a traffic collapse at exactly the same time.

IPTV Subscribers Must Pay a Fine

Finding out exactly what techniques the police used in May will take time but at face value seem more suited to terrorists than people looking for cheap streams. The fine amounts are baffling too, especially given the extraordinary effort to track IPTV users down.

The letters refer to an administrative copyright infringement fine of just 154 euros or “in case of recidivism” a total of 1,032 euros. However, if people pay their fines within 60 days, the amounts are reduced to 51 euros and 344 euros respectively.

“It is important to raise awareness of all citizens, especially young people, on this issue and make them understand that financing this business means financing organized crime. We must protect the healthy economy and companies that respect the rules,” Berruti says.

Around 1,600 people are believed to have been targeted in this first wave of letters but according to Andrea Duillo, CEO of Sky Italia, this is just the start.

“These first fines show that it is doubly dangerous to use pirated services, because not only do you hand over your personal data to criminal organizations, but you also commit an offense for which you are fined and prosecuted,” Duillo concludes.

A redacted copy of the letter can be found here ( pdf )

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.