Germany blocks websites only occasionally: providers block piracy sites by DNS after court rulings, RT and Sputnik are barred under EU sanctions, and illegal posts are mostly dealt with by removal rules for platforms.
Every day we open 67 of the world’s biggest sites and apps from home internet connections in Germany, and record what’s blocked, since when and how.
0 of 67 testedsites and apps with a confirmed block in Germany
67 of 67 results confirmed in the last 48 hours.
Tests are requested on Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone home connections.
Most German website blocks target piracy. The CUII clearing house, set up in March 2021 by internet providers and rights holders, coordinates DNS blocks on “structurally copyright-infringing” sites such as kinox.to; its members include Telekom Deutschland, Vodafone, the DFL football league, DAZN and Sky. Until July 2025 a CUII panel and the Bundesnetzagentur vetted each block, 25 sites in all; under a new code, every block now needs a court ruling first, because the Bundesnetzagentur said it could no longer keep up.
The 2017 Network Enforcement Act, NetzDG, made large social networks remove “obviously illegal” posts within 24 hours, and the Federal Office of Justice fined Telegram €5.125 million under it in October 2022. Since February 2024 the EU’s Digital Services Act has replaced most of NetzDG, and the Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz, in force since May 2024, makes the Bundesnetzagentur the authority in charge, so taking down illegal posts is now mainly a matter of EU law.
Youth protection law allows blocking when other steps fail. In late 2021 the Commission for Youth Media Protection ordered five providers to block xHamster for lacking age checks, but the site moved to similar addresses and regulators called the effort a failure. RT and Sputnik, including RT DE, have been barred under EU sanctions since March 2022; RT DE kept opening mirror sites, and Freedom House found the Bundesnetzagentur updated the mirror lists providers block from only irregularly. Providers carry that block out in their own name lookup (DNS), which many of our test machines don’t use, so our daily test can find www.rt.com opening.
Courts have also struck down a ban. In July 2024 the interior ministry banned the publisher of Compact magazine under the law on associations, including its website and YouTube channel. The Federal Administrative Court partly suspended the ban that August and annulled it on 24 June 2025, finding it disproportionate once press freedom was weighed against the statements the ministry cited.
Are VPNs legal in Germany?
VPNs are legal in Germany: the federal cyber-security office, the BSI, recommends one for reaching your home network from a Wi-Fi hotspot and says it cuts the risks of public Wi-Fi.
Key dates
A new CUII code takes effect: piracy sites are blocked only after a court ruling, as the Bundesnetzagentur stops vetting blocks.
The Federal Administrative Court annuls the interior ministry’s ban on Compact magazine, which had covered its website and online channels.
The Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz takes effect, writing the EU’s Digital Services Act, which superseded most of NetzDG, into German law.
The Federal Office of Justice fines Telegram €5.125 million for breaking NetzDG rules.
EU sanctions bar RT and Sputnik, including RT DE, and German providers block their websites.
Internet providers and rights holders launch the CUII clearing house for DNS blocks on piracy sites.
Get past a block
Blocked in Germany?
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History
Changes in Germany
No confirmed changes since monitoring began on 29 Sep 2026. When a block appears or lifts, and a re-check on several machines agrees, it shows up here.
Method
How we test
Test machines on Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone home connections open each site’s homepage every day.
A failure counts only when it happens twice on the same network, while the site opens from other countries.
A change is published only after re-checks a few hours later and again the next day, on several machines per provider, confirm it. It’s dated from the first sighting.
Test machines caught getting around blocks, through a VPN or a filter-dodging tool, are set aside.
We test websites, mostly over home broadband. Apps, calls and mobile networks can behave differently.
No. Germany has fined Telegram rather than blocking it. In January 2022 the interior minister threatened to ask Apple and Google to remove it from their app stores, then said the threat was only meant as pressure, and in October 2022 the Federal Office of Justice fined Telegram €5.125 million under NetzDG.
Why Are Some Streaming Sites Blocked in Germany?
Most are pirate sites. Germany’s big internet providers block sites that the CUII clearing house lists as “structurally copyright-infringing”, such as s.to and kinox.to, at the DNS level, and visitors see a CUII or provider notice instead. Since July 2025 each block has needed a court ruling first.
Did Germany Ban Compact Magazine?
It tried. In July 2024 the interior ministry banned the magazine’s publisher, including its website and online channels, under the law on associations. The Federal Administrative Court partly suspended the ban in August 2024 and annulled it on 24 June 2025, finding it disproportionate once press freedom was weighed.
