Cloudflare Italy Fine Puts Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Security at Risk

A $16 million fine could leave the Winter Olympics vulnerable. Cloudflare is threatening to pull its cybersecurity shield from Italy just weeks before the Milano Cortina 2026 games begin.

Why the Cloudflare Italy Fine Threatens Milano Cortina 2026

According to Reuters, Italy’s communications watchdog, Agcom, announced a 14 million euro fine on Thursday for what it called "ongoing violations" of anti-piracy laws. The conflict centers on Italy's "Piracy Shield" system, which forces providers to block reported pirated content within 30 minutes. Cloudflare allegedly failed to comply with these automated takedown requests.

Prince Slams 'Internet Censorship' Scheme

Cloudflare's CEO, Matthew Prince, didn't hold back in his response. Late Friday, he condemned the system as a "scheme to censor the internet" with no judicial oversight or transparency. He argued that the system's global blocking requirements are a bridge too far for a company that manages about 20% of the world's internet traffic.

The stakes are high. Prince mentioned he’s considering "discontinuing the millions of dollars in pro bono cyber-security services" for the upcoming Milano-Cortina Olympics, which are set to kick off on February 6, 2026. He’s scheduled to meet with the IOC next week to discuss the fallout.

While Agcom claims the system has successfully disabled 65,000 domains and 14,000 IP addresses, Cloudflare views it as a dangerous precedent. The company may not only stop protecting the Olympics but could also remove all servers from Italian cities and scrap its investment plans in the country.