Milano Cortina Winter Olympics threatened by Cloudflare funding withdrawal

Al JazeeraCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete January 10, 2026 at 04:49 PM

AI Summary

medium article 2 min

Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince is threatening to withdraw support for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics after the company was fined 14 million euros by Italy's communications watchdog, Agcom, on January 10, 2026. The fine was issued for Cloudflare's alleged failure to adequately address online piracy under Italy's "Piracy Shield" system, which requires providers to block reported pirated content within 30 minutes. Prince criticized the system as censorship without judicial oversight and stated it requires global blocking of content. Cloudflare is challenging the fine and considering discontinuing its pro bono cybersecurity services for the Olympics, as well as other services and investments in Italy. Prince plans to discuss the issue with US officials and the International Olympic Committee.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Lausanne 30% Washington, DC 40% International Olympic Committee (IOC) 50% United States 60% Matthew Prince ×270% Agcom 75% Italy ×480% Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics ×285% Cloudflare ×590%

Keywords

cloudflare 100% milano cortina winter olympics 100% online piracy 80% italian communications watchdog 70% cybersecurity services 70% funding withdrawal 60% anti-piracy law 60% piracy shield 50% internet censorship 50% legal challenges 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.40

Source Transparency

Source

Al Jazeera

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Italy

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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cloudflare milano cortina winter olympics online piracy italian communications watchdog cybersecurity services funding withdrawal anti-piracy law piracy shield internet censorship legal challenges

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