TV Manufacturers to Ban VPNs as Piracy Shield 2.0 Prepares to Launch in Italy

• Italy’s anti-piracy blocking system, Piracy Shield, removed previously blocked domains and IP addresses due to a lack of capability.
• The system updates announced the Italian Authority for Communications are to be funded from public money.
• To prevent sidestepping the system’s blockades, Italy intends to ban the use of some smart TV VPNs.

The Italian Authority for Communications (AGCOM) will require two smart TV manufacturers to prevent users from installing VPN apps on their products during September, ahead of the programmed launch of Piracy Shield 2.0, Italy’s controversial anti-piracy blocking system.

Starting with October 2023, AGCOM publicly declared being happy with some IPTV providers’ decision to make VPN use mandatory, saying VPN users flag themselves as piracy-inclined by default.

Later that month, an AGCOM document said VPN and open DNS service providers would have to execute the blocks requested by the agency. 

The AGCOM currently studies legitimate apps that can be used for piracy, such as VPNs, La Repubblica reports, and focuses on an unnamed VPN app on smart TV app stores that has an office in the E.U. 

VPNs are mostly used for safety and anonymity while browsing the internet, but they can also unblock several geo-restricted services. 

However, while a legitimate VPN service cannot be pursued legally since it abides by general legal obligations, AGCOM could rely on the Digital Services Act due to a lack of copyright grounds.

The current system does not meet the needed blocking capacity, only blocking 60 to 70 of the country’s over 300 ISPs. So, it unblocks domains and IP addresses on its list to make room for new ones. 

Head of telecoms regulator AGCOM Massimiliano Capitanio said the platform needs an infrastructural upgrade to support more ISPs. 

A new platform is expected to be launched by the end of the year, and the current one will be expanded. The estimated running cost of 2 million euros yearly will be financed from public funds.