EU-Backed DNS Resolver Collects Pirate Site Blocklist, Which It Doesn’t Use
The article examines an unusual development involving DNS4EU, the European Union funded public DNS resolver designed as a privacy focused alternative to services such as Google Public DNS and Cloudflare. Although DNS4EU has obtained pirate site blocklists from Dutch anti piracy organization BREIN, TorrentFreak found that it is not actually using them to block access to copyright infringing websites.
BREIN’s annual report revealed that it automatically shares its dynamic pirate site blocklist with DNS4EU. The list includes more than 300 domains, 13 piracy platforms and several IP addresses covered by Dutch court orders and voluntary ISP agreements. BREIN believed DNS4EU intended to use this information and reported that the resolver had also expressed interest in receiving similar blocklists from other countries.
The article notes that DNS4EU was originally conceived with content filtering capabilities. European Commission tender documents specified that the service should be capable of filtering illegal content where required by EU or national law. This led many observers to assume that copyright related blocking would become part of the resolver’s operation.
However, practical testing by TorrentFreak showed that domains such as The Pirate Bay remained fully accessible through DNS4EU. The operator, Czech cybersecurity company Whalebone, declined to confirm any voluntary copyright blocking and instead referred to its official policy, which states that DNS resolution will only be blocked when legally required, ordered by a competent authority, or explicitly requested by the user.
DNS4EU’s first transparency report supports this position. While the resolver performed approximately 63 million voluntary blocks between June and December 2025, nearly all involved phishing, scams and cybersecurity threats. The report recorded zero voluntary blocks in both the copyright infringement and broader intellectual property categories.
The article concludes by questioning why DNS4EU requested copyright blocklists if it has no intention of using them. Whalebone explained that no agreement exists among consortium members regarding possible future use of such data. For now, the resolver continues to prioritize cybersecurity and privacy while avoiding voluntary copyright enforcement beyond legally binding court or government orders.
