Note urges caution on governments’ use of DNS blocking

i2Coalition highlights impact of DNS-level blocking.

A fresh note and website from i2Coalition raise concerns regarding governments increasingly using DNS blocking to control online content, warning that it could harm the global internet.

The note, “DNS at Risk: How Network Blocking and Fragmentation Undermine the Global Internet,” notes that DNS was built to neutrally direct users to websites. Now, it’s being used by governments to block access to content, counting copyright violations and politically sensitive material.

But DNS blocking is a blunt instrument that often has collateral damage, such as blocking legitimate websites.

A number of examples highlight the collateral damage from DNS blocking. Italy’s “Piracy Shield” program mistakenly blocked Google Drive and many legitimate websites using Cloudflare. Similarly, Spain’s court order to stop illegal sports streaming accidentally took thousands of legitimate sites offline.

Cases in Malaysia, Austria, and South Korea show similar problems. Recently, Austria’s telecom regulator reversed a decision on IP blocking due to widespread harm to innocent sites.

In another example, the U.S. government took down an entire website that had thousands of subdomains used by individual users and businesses since of the content on one of those subdomains.

The note urges policymakers and internet service providers to refrain from using DNS for broad content regulation. It emphasizes the use of targeted methods instead, warning that the misuse of DNS threatens the internet’s openness and stability.

The note is available on i2Coalition’s issue website DNSatRisk.org. The site allows users to submit additional case studies.