Google Opposes Broad Site Blocking in Europe, Warns of 'Overblocking' as US Considers Piracy Measures
Key Takeaways
- ▸Google argues that DNS blocking, IP blocking, and VPN blocking are ineffective at removing piracy content and are easily circumvented by users switching to alternative resolvers
- ▸Real-world examples show that site blocking measures unintentionally harm legitimate services—including disrupting Google's own cloud services and blocking sites from major nonprofits and government institutions
- ▸Google supports targeted, proportional blocking measures with court oversight and shared implementation costs, but opposes broad-based blocking as a primary enforcement tool
Summary
Google has formally opposed broad site blocking measures in a submission to the European Commission's Copyright Directive review, arguing that DNS resolver blocking, VPN blocking, and IP address blocking are ineffective and disproportionate enforcement tools. The company cited multiple real-world examples where blocking measures inadvertently targeted legitimate services and infrastructure—including a 2019 incident where Portuguese ISPs blocked Google-hosted Virtual IPs, disrupting Google services for other customers, and Italy's Piracy Shield inadvertently blocking a Google Drive subdomain.
The submission underscores Google's concerns about "overblocking"—the unintended consequence of blocking entire IP ranges or DNS resolvers to target piracy. An empirical study found that following a LaLiga blocking order in Spain, over 554,000 domains were blocked during football broadcasts, including websites from Amnesty International, the ACLU, UNICEF, and the Australian Senate. Google argues that blocking injunctions should be transparent, limited in scope, applied only as a last resort, and should involve shared costs between rightsholders and intermediaries.
The filing comes as momentum builds in the United States for similar site blocking measures. The House IP subcommittee recently held a hearing on copyright protection and enforcement on the Internet, signaling U.S. lawmakers' intent to pursue more aggressive piracy enforcement tools. Google's regulatory push in Europe may foreshadow similar opposition to U.S. site blocking plans, as the company seeks to limit the infrastructure burden and collateral damage from broad-based blocking measures.
- The U.S. is moving toward stricter site blocking measures, which could conflict with Google's infrastructure and regulatory stance
