i2Coalition Launches ‘DNS at Risk’ Report and Website to Spotlight Rising Global Internet Infrastructure Abuse

New Platform Documents DNS Blocking, Internet Fragmentation, and Global Censorship-by-Infrastructure

June 3, 2025—Washington, D.C. Today, the i2Coalition (Internet Infrastructure Coalition) is launching a major new policy report and companion website titled DNS at Risk: How Network Blocking and Fragmentation Undermine the Global Internet. The initiative reveals the alarming trend of governments around the world increasingly using DNS resolvers and core Internet infrastructure as blunt enforcement tools—creating unintended and profound consequences that threaten access, security, and global interoperability.

The new report is now live at dnsatrisk.org, where users can access the full study and crucially, where the global community can submit new case studies documenting infrastructure-level blocking and technical fragmentation.

“This report is a wake-up call,” said Christian Dawson, Executive Director of the i2Coalition. “DNS resolvers are neutral infrastructure—not censorship tools. When governments use them to enforce content policies, the result is overreach, disruption, and long-term harm to the open Internet. We’ve built dnsatrisk.org to document these incidents and to help the global community push back with evidence and clarity.”

The DNS at Risk report draws on over a dozen global case studies, including examples from Italy, Malaysia, Russia, the United States, and others. It highlights the real-world harms caused by DNS blocking, IP filtering, and mandatory infrastructure manipulation—ranging from mass service outages to economic disruption and erosion of international trust.

Key goals of the DNS at Risk initiative include:

• Establishing a definitive public record of infrastructure-level content enforcement through DNS and IP blocking
• Exposing the profound technical, economic, and geopolitical risks of censorship by infrastructure
• Championing robust enforcement approaches that fiercely preserve resolver neutrality and Internet interoperability
• Mobilizing global stakeholders to contribute new, vital case studies via a standardized reporting framework

“The global Internet depends on common protocols, trust, and neutrality at the infrastructure layer,” said Dawson. “This initiative shines a spotlight on where that’s breaking—and what we can do about it.”

About DNS at Risk

DNS at Risk is a research, advocacy, and public education initiative of the i2Coalition. It documents how infrastructure-level blocking measures—especially DNS resolver interference—are threatening the health, stability, and global reach of the Internet. The project combines technical analysis, policy recommendations, and firsthand case studies to help policymakers, advocates, and service providers make informed decisions. Visit dnsatrisk.org to learn more or to submit a case.

About the i2Coalition

The i2Coalition (Internet Infrastructure Coalition) is the voice of the Internet’s builders. Representing web hosting companies, data centers, domain registrars and registries, cloud infrastructure providers, and managed services providers, we advocate for policies that protect innovation and support the Internet’s critical role in the global economy.

Our story began in 2011 during the successful fight against SOPA and PIPA, rallying the industry to protect the free flow of information online. Since formally founding in 2012, the i2Coalition has championed initiatives to keep the Internet open, secure, and accessible.

To learn more about the i2Coalition and explore membership, please visit i2Coalition.com.