Disclosure of CUII – dam’s blog

What is CUII?

the Cleaning house for Internet copyright (CUII) is a private organization founded in Germany in 2021. Its members include ISPs such as Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, 1&1, and Telefónica (O2), along with major copyright holders^{. These ISPs alone control 85% of the German market.}

CUII’s role is to block websites that allegedly infringe copyright. However, unlike traditional legal processes, CUII bypasses the courts entirely. Its members find websites they want blocked, CUII “evaluates” them and then decides which ones to block without needing judicial approval.

One would think that a powerful entity acts transparently and follows strict monitoring procedures, as outlined in their own Code of Conduct (Section 8)^{. Unfortunately, that is far from the case.}

How to start it: cuiiliste.de

Although CUII decides which websites to block, it does not publicly disclose the blocked domains. Even Germany’s Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) is not informed about mirror domains (Section 9 of the Code of Conduct)^.

To prevent this secret, the website cuiiliste.de created in 2021. It aims to crowdsource a list of blocked domains^{. unfortunately, cuiliste.de closed in 2023.}

When I discovered this, I decided to revive the concept. I got the domain and automated the process of checking and monitoring blocked websites. This is due to the CUII’s refusal to publish a field list, which is allowed under their Code of Conduct (Appendix 1, Section 4, Paragraph 4, Letter l)^.

While I’m working on it, my friend North side HE HAS HIS HANDS ON THE ACTUAL CUII DOMAIN LIST!?
We won’t reveal how, but it’s groundbreaking.

holy shit, we’re actually on the cuii list. holy fucking bingle. what?!? :3

Publication of the list

The leaked list revealed 284 blocked domains and subdomains. There are no wildcard blocks, all subdomains are listed individually.

When the list was added to the database, news outlets picked up the story. Articles appear on platforms such as Netzpolitik.org^{HeiseTorrentFreakand so on. The publicity was huge, shining a light on CUII’s lack of transparency.}

You can still view and contribute to the updated list of cuiliste.de.

Failure to monitor

The members of CUII are: needed to regularly monitor blocked websites to ensure they still meet the blocking criteria (Section 8 of the Code of Conduct)^{. This requirement is also enforced by the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA).}

Translation: “The applicant (CUII member) must conduct regular monitoring to check whether the conditions for blocking the claim according to §19a UrhG (German Copyright Act) are still present.”
– Statement from the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) on a Freedom of Information request

But the domains remained wrongly blocked for years. For example, serien.sx redirected to non-infringing content (serien.domains) back in April 2022. However, it remained blocked until I raised the issue with CUII. While they didn’t respond, the domain was quietly unblocked soon after.

This is not an isolated case. Reviewing the blocked domains, I found that 41 out of 122 were wrongly blocked—more than a third!
News outlets like Netzpolitik.org reported on it^{which forces CUII to remove many incorrect blocks.}

CONCLUSION

CUII operates with little oversight, significant power, and a questionable track record. Its members failed to perform the necessary monitoring, which led to many erroneous blocks. Transparency, the foundation of accountability, remains absent.

But how is such an organization possible in Germany? Net neutrality should, in theory, protect the openness of the internet, but the existence of CUII seems to circumvent this principle. The pressure comes from the legal and financial risks ISPs face if they do not block websites accused of copyright infringement. Even the law not mandated these blocks, the fear of possible lawsuits prompted ISPs to liaise with copyright holders and form private and secretive organizations such as CUII.

This raises fundamental questions about the balance of power. How can private companies decide what is accessible on the internet? How does a system allow ISPs to bypass judicial oversight and implement these measures themselves? And, most disturbingly, how did it lead to the creation of a secretive and unaccountable organization with such authority in a country that values ​​freedom and transparency?

Do we really want a future where private and secretive organizations decide what we can access online, based on the whims of multi-billion-dollar companies?
CUII shows how power, even in a free country, can grow under the guise of enforcing antiquated and overbroad copyright laws. Laws that prioritize corporate interests over individual liberties, destroy the openness, innovation, and equality that the internet is meant to protect.

VISITORS cuiiliste.de to see the updated list and help push for more transparency in digital censorship (German only).

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