Cloudflare CEO on the Italy fines • Hacker News Board

Re: Cloudflare CEO on the Italy fines

#601

Post by xdennis » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 2:53 AM UTC

troyvit wrote: post #365

bflesch wrote: post #11

Not a good look on that guy to list his "pro-bono" services and threaten to pull them while asking JD Vance for his help. How is he expecting the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics to influence some representative of media right holders who have fined Cloudflare? Is he assuming that just because all of the listed things are Italian they can just make the fine go away?

I'm a team lead in an American organization that relies heavily on Cloudflare's Project Galileo[1], and I read that post with growing dread. My first thought was that this guy doesn't sound very much like a CEO. Let me rephrase that: He sounds like the kind of unhinged CEO of orgs I try to stay away from (X, for instance). Then I read what you're talking about: > [...] we are considering the following actions: [...]…

> That's punishing all of Italy's users including those whose job it is to call truth to power

Cloudflare is a business. If the fines for operating are several times the money it can get from Italian users, why should it stay in Italy at all?

It's like when Wikipedia went dark for a day. It punished all users, but the point is to show that politicians are forcing it to do so.

Re: Cloudflare CEO on the Italy fines

#602

Post by rediguanayum » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 2:55 AM UTC

troyvit wrote: post #448

Illniyar wrote: post #388

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He did mention that they were fighting the law before they were fined and they plan to challenge the fine in court. He has also been vocal about other similar legislation before they were enacted or the company got fined (not sure about this specific one though). So I don't think it's fair to characterize it as he "only complains about it when his company is fined".

He also said this: > In the meantime, we remain happy to discuss this with Italian government officials who, so far, have been unwilling to engage beyond issuing fines. which, although his rant really pisses me off, further proves your point.

He's giving Italy and Italians fair warning that he will abandon the Italian market to avoid being subject to their laws, and I think it will go that way. I guess it's up to the Italians to find a replacement.

Re: Cloudflare CEO on the Italy fines

#603

Post by _aavaa_ » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 2:57 AM UTC

kavaruka wrote: post #584

immibis wrote: post #540

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can someone report a bunch of government websites and legal streaming services and see what happens?

Only right owners can report websites, the Piracy Shield is essentially a tool in the hands of “Serie A Soccer League” and DAZN.

How is the rights holder verified in 30 minutes?

Re: Cloudflare CEO on the Italy fines

#604

Post by karel-3d » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 3:00 AM UTC

note that this is all about football streaming, which is so funny

as far as i can tell, it's really not about politics or surveillance... it's really just about football streaming, and they push the 30 minute thing because it's important for them to stop it during the match.

it's stupid; but it's even more stupid to do draconian censorship for... football streaming.

Re: Cloudflare CEO on the Italy fines

#605

Post by immibis » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 3:02 AM UTC

t0mas88 wrote: post #416

wmf wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's about copyright. Seizing domain names (registered outside Italy of course) can't be done in 30 minutes which is what the football overlords want.

What is it with Southern Europe and the football overlords? Spain is blocking half the internet, Italy is fighting Cloudflare. What's up? Are football leagues big political donors?

Those football leagues are run by the literal Mafia

Re: Cloudflare CEO on the Italy fines

#606

Post by xdennis » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 3:08 AM UTC

UqWBcuFx6NV4r wrote: post #326

ancorevard wrote: post #226

[flagged]

You know in your heart of hearts that this is a blatantly intellectually dishonest comparison. Nobody’s buying it, not even yourself.

I'm buying it. Look up the number of people prosecuted in China for internet speech versus the UK (not even EU). The UK prosecutes more even though it has a much smaller population.

Re: Cloudflare CEO on the Italy fines

#607

Post by xdennis » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 3:20 AM UTC

Hamuko wrote: post #418

tick_tock_tick wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can accuse the US politicians of a lot but hiding in the shadows is probably the last thing you can say about the current USA administration.

Isn't this the same government that started a secret war against Venezuela without any authorization?

Why do people go out of their way to criticize Trump like this?

Attacking other countries without declaring war is a staple of pretty much every US president since WW2, republican or democrat. Carter is the only one who stands out (ironically, despite the fact that he had a good cause to invade Iran).

Re: Cloudflare CEO on the Italy fines

#608

Post by reassess_blind » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 3:25 AM UTC

NicuCalcea wrote: post #514

Dylan16807 wrote: post #506

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rejecting the system, everyone in it, and everyone that's willing to interact with it, is not a way to get good outcomes. No don't "just take it" but encouraging one of the good opinions of the vice president is fine.

I disagree, some systems are so bad they need to be rejected outright. As a European, I find asking for the help of Vance and Musk as hostile, even if the person asking is in the right.

What would you have them do instead? Honest question.

Re: Cloudflare CEO on the Italy fines

#609

Post by perfmode » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 3:31 AM UTC

Matthew Prince’s framing of Italy’s action as a “free speech assault by a shadowy cabal” is rhetorically exaggerated, but his underlying concerns about due process have legitimate basis—confirmed by EU Commission criticism of the same system.

The reality is more nuanced than either party presents: Italy is enforcing an aggressive copyright protection regime with documented implementation flaws, while Prince is strategically reframing an anti-piracy dispute as a censorship issue and overstating US administration support for his position.

Re: Cloudflare CEO on the Italy fines

#610

Post by notepad0x90 » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 3:32 AM UTC

neysofu wrote: post #576

notepad0x90 wrote: post #501

does he not understand that countries are...countries? "quasi-judicial" is so childish of a thing to say, of all people by a CEO. I don't even care about the details of the law, what is he aiming to achieve here by disrespecting their government as a foreigner and accusing them of "censorship". Makes wish they'd fine him just for that tweet alone. You do what a country tells you to do as a foreigner, or you leave. Th…

> You do what a country tells you to do as a foreigner, or you leave. I suppose you're right. You're still allowed to criticize the government's decisions though! This is certainly true in Italy, which has quite reasonable laws with regards to freedom of speech. > what is he aiming to achieve here by disrespecting their government Western government instituitions are hardly sacred. Again, people are allowed to critic…

The people in italy are allowed to do whatever they want with their own government. Even foreigners in other countries, who cares. But if you're a guest, you don't disrespect your host, certainly not about the rules they have.

Imagine if I were to complain about HN rules and how the moderators are tyrants. That's what @eastdakota is doing. It's one thing to say that when you're posting else where, but not here. he's not having to following italian laws because he's an italian, he's having to do so, so that he can be afforded the privileges of doing business there.