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Cloudflare Blocks Abusive Content on its Ethereum GatewayErnesto Van der Sar, 21 Nov 10:58 PM Popular Internet infrastructure service Cloudflare ser

Cloudflare Blocks Abusive Content on its Ethereum Gateway Ernesto Van der Sar, 21 Nov 10:58 PM Popular Internet infrastructure service Cloudflare serves millions of customers and provides a variety of connectivity and privacy features to the general public. People can freely use the company's open DNS resolver 1.1.1.1, for example, or use its IPFS and Ethereum gateways to access content on these decentralized web services. One of Cloudflare's main aims is to make the Internet more secure while respecting the privacy of its users. This laudable goal is broadly respected but in common with other internet services, abuse of Cloudflare's services can lead to conflicting situations. The California-based company previously terminated service to controversial sites including the Daily Stormer and Kiwi Farms. These actions were taken voluntarily, with Cloudflare citing an immediate threat to human life as the reason for the Kiwi Farms intervention. Domain Blocking In addition to these rare events, the Internet infrastructure company is also subject to court orders from around the globe. In some cases, these orders require the company to block access to piracy-related domain names. Cloudflare mentions these blocking orders in its latest transparency report which covers the second half of 2022. The report doesn't mention the number of court orders or blocked domains, but it confirms that Cloudflare complies with legitimate legal rulings. "If we determine that the order is valid and requires Cloudflare action, we may limit blocking of access to the content to those areas where it violates local law, a practice known as 'geo-blocking'," Cloudflare writes. DNS Blocking DNS blocking orders apply locally and shouldn't affect people in other countries. However, things got more complicated recently when an Italian court required Cloudflare to restrict access to three torrent sites through its public DNS resolver 1.1.1.1. Cloudflare fiercely objected to the order but ultimately lost the legal battle. That left the company with no other option than to take action. But, instead of blocking content through its global DNS resolver, it geo-blocked the domains for Italians. "To the extent that those websites used Cloudflare services, Cloudflare took steps following the issuance of the order to disable access to those websites for users in Italy or from Cloudflare equipment in Italy. "Cloudflare took action to geoblock all three domains that were addressed by the court's order and were using our service at the time the orders were issued via Cloudflare's pass-through CDN and security services," the company added. IPFS and Ethereum Restrictions In its most recent transparency report, Cloudflare further notes that it has implemented access restrictions on its public Ethereum gateway. The company doesn't store any content on the Ethereum network, nor can it remove any. However, it can block access through its service. If Cloudflare receives valid abuse reports or copyright infringement complaints, it will take appropriate action. The same applies to the gateway for the decentralized IPFS network. In its previous transparency report, Cloudflare already mentioned more than 1,000 IPFS actions a figure that increased slightly in the second half of last year. At the same time, Cloudflare also restricted access to 99 'items' on the Ethereum network. Since these are 'gateway' related restrictions there's no impact on the content hosted on IPFS or Ethereum. Instead, it will only make it impossible to access content through Cloudflare's service. It's not clear how many of these restrictions are abuse or copyright-related, as not much context is provided. The Ethereum actions are, at least in part, a response to the U.S. Department of Treasury's sanctions against the cryptocurrency tumbler Tornado Cash. "Those sanctions raise significant legal questions about the extent to which particular computer software, rather than individuals or entities that use that software, can be subject to sanctions," Cloudflare writes. "Nonetheless, to comply with legal requirements, Cloudflare has taken steps to disable access through the Cloudflare-operated Ethereum Gateway to the digital currency addresses identified in the designation." DMCA Notices and Subpoenas There are more obvious copyright responses as well. While Cloudflare generally doesn't block content in response to DMCA notices for customers that use its CDN services, it does remove infringing content permanently hosted on its servers. These hosting services have expanded over the years and the same is true for the volume of valid DMCA notices received, up from 18 to 972 in the span of a year, as shown below. That's still a fairly modest number for a company with millions of customers. Finally, Cloudflare reports that the number of civil subpoenas, including those issued under the DMCA, has decreased. Rightsholders including the Motion Picture Association (MPA) typically use these requests to obtain identifying information about Cloudflare customers. In the second half of last year, the company received 20 civil subpoenas which targeted 57 domain names. That's the lowest number since Cloudflare first disclosed this statistic five years ago, signaling a downward trend. — A copy of Cloudflare's latest Transparency Report is available here (pdf) From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. Pirate IPTV: Brit Arrested in Benidorm After Social Media Ads Raised Suspicion Andy Maxwell, 21 Nov 01:54 PM According to data published by the UK's Office for National Statistics, UK residents made 15.6 million visits to Spain in 2022, with holidays the most popular reason. Whether Brits are on a two-week vacation or embedded within the ex-pat community, there's a tendency to appreciate things less available at home, sunshine in particular. For many, however, a longing for British things has created opportunities for those prepared to meet the demand. By offering BBC and ITV channels, for example, pirate IPTV services have become very popular indeed but since the packages offer much more, they're almost a must for bars and restaurants in tourist areas. Social Media Sales Attract Attention According to information released by Spain's National Police on Monday, a broadcaster's representative filed a complaint after spotting a profile on social media platforms offering pirate IPTV subscriptions. Those packages granted access to sporting events to which the broadcaster holds the rights. Officers assigned to the Technological Crimes Group of the Provincial Judicial Police Brigade of Alicante launched an investigation to identify the person behind those accounts. Investigation: Key Findings Benidorm is a seaside resort on Spain's east coast. It's a popular destination for tourists from the UK, including those who enjoy watching live football at local bars, often courtesy of IPTV packages. Police investigators say they located several ads offering the subscriptions for sale. In one of the ads it was claimed that the person offering them had been "supplying IPTV to bars and restaurants in Benidorm for ten years, with support 24 hours a day, seven days a week." Police say the subscriptions were on sale for as little as £7 up to a maximum of £50, presumably based on subscription length and the content on offer. At least one package provided access to 594 channels, including those belonging to the broadcaster behind the original complaint. Other findings led investigators to conclude that the person offering the subscriptions was from the UK and his target audience likely consisted of English speakers in Spain. "During the investigation, police officers verified that the payments made were destined for a bank account in the United Kingdom and, in addition to sporting events, offered access to English, Scottish and Irish channels. For this reason, the audience to which the television offer was directed was of British or English-speaking origin," police reveal. "After various police efforts, the agents verified that the person who seemed to be behind the scheme was a British citizen who was linked to various bank accounts and who had his own Internet server to offer the services. The man had a home address in Benidorm and made continuous trips from the United Kingdom to the Alicante town." Policía Nacional Arrest Brit in Benidorm After obtaining permission from a local court, police raided the man's home in Benidorm. During the search, officers found two IPTV devices, a mobile phone, and a laptop. It's alleged that an application open on the laptop allowed the man to control the IPTV services he offered on social media and at the time of the police intervention, he was offering several dozen, including some in Spain. An inspection of the suspect's mobile phone revealed various apps for accessing "banking entities" in the UK. Officers were only able to access one of those apps but found that the suspect had made transactions worth over £9,500. Many additional transactions were found by other means. "[A]fter the officers of the Technological Crimes Group analyzed a payment platform through which the detainee charged for subscriptions, they verified that the person involved had allegedly received nearly 5,500 payments for the subscriptions, the majority in pounds sterling and about 200 payments in euros. The amount exceeded 185,000 pounds sterling and about 6,500 euros," police note. "Market and Consumer" Offenses Police say a 62-year-old British man stands accused of intellectual property offenses, specifically those related to the market and consumers. That terminology suggests an eye on events back in 2019 that didn't go exactly to plan. Following complaints by top-tier football league, LaLiga, more than 50 people in the Alicante area appeared in court for showing LaLiga matches in bars and restaurants either via illegal IPTV packages, or official subscriptions designed for residential use. After some of those individuals were found guilty, a criminal court in Alicante found that showing the matches in public wasn't an intellectual property crime. That led to acquittals and the reversal of earlier guilty verdicts on the basis that "football does not have the character of a literary, scientific or artistic work" so copyright did not apply. Cases against several bars in Valencia also failed to convince the court of intellectual property crimes. Instead, the court found that a minor crime related to the market and consumers had been committed. From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. Are you looking for a VPN service? TorrentFreak sponsor NordVPN has some excellent offers. ©2023 TorrentFreak | Office 21338 PO Box 4336 Manchester, North West M61 0BW United Kingdom Web Version   Preferences   Forward   Unsubscribe     Powered by Mad Mimi®A GoDaddy® company