Italy Blocks Reproductive Health Websites Women on Web and Women Help Women

Jul 28, 2026 09:05 PM - 3 hours ago 73

Maria Xynou (OONI), Arturo Filastò (OONI), Mehul Gulati (OONI), Venny Ala-Siurua (Women connected Web), Hannes-Jeremia Jaacks (Women connected Web), 2026-07-28

In this report, we stock OONI data connected the blocking of the Women connected Web (WoW) and Women Help Women (WHW) websites successful Italy. These websites facilitate entree to reproductive wellness attraction and connection abortion information.

- Key findings
- Introduction
- Background
- Methods
  - OONI information analysis
- Findings
  - Women connected Web (WoW)
  - Women Help Women (WHW)
    - Acknowledgement of limitations
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgements

Key findings

Our study of OONI data collected from OONI Probe tests of Women connected Web (www.womenonweb.org) and Women Help Women (womenhelp.org) successful Italy betwixt 1 November 2025 and 1 June 2026 indicates that at slightest 6 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) – including several of Italy’s largest networks by end-user population – began blocking entree to some domains successful mid-February 2026 done DNS tampering.

Specifically, cardinal findings include:

Concurrent DNS-based blocking of some Women connected Web (WoW) and Women Help Women (WHW) crossed aggregate ISPs. Beginning successful mid-February 2026, OONI information shows DNS-based interference affecting some Women connected Web (www.womenonweb.org) and Women Help Women (womenhelp.org) connected the pursuing networks: Fastweb (AS12874), Vodafone Italia (AS30722), EOLO (AS35612), Sky Italia (AS210278), and Iliad/Scaleway (AS29447). The sixth affected web differs by domain: Women connected Web was blocked connected INTRED (AS41497), while Women Help Women was blocked connected WIND TRE (AS1267).
Bogon IP responses. For some domains, Fastweb (AS12874) and Iliad/Scaleway (AS29447) returned the bogon IP reside 127.0.0.1 during DNS resolution. This behaviour was besides observed for Women connected Web connected INTRED (AS41497).
NXDOMAIN responses. Vodafone Italia (AS30722) and EOLO (AS35612) returned NXDOMAIN responses for some domains, falsely indicating that the domains did not exist. For Women Help Women, the aforesaid behaviour was additionally observed connected WIND TRE (AS1267).
Block page redirection. On Sky Italia (AS210278), requests for some Women connected Web and Women Help Women were redirected from mid-February 2026 onwards to the IP reside 195.162.95.240, wherever the server presented a TLS certificate for blocking.it.isp.sky. This hostname mismatch resulted successful TLS certificate validation failures.

Introduction

Since 2012, the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) builds free package tools and hosts open data to empower the nationalist to monitor, document, and respond to net censorship astir the world. OONI is simply a nonprofit statement registered successful Italy that operates globally.

Having pioneered crowdsourced methods for measuring net censorship, OONI is simply a leader successful the web measurement world. We won the 2012 Access Now Freedom of Expression Tech Prize for actionable ideas connected really to usage accusation exertion to beforehand and alteration quality authorities and present societal good. More recently, we received the Free and Open Communications connected the Internet (FOCI) 2023 Community Award.

Overall, we measurement net services successful a crowdsourced measurement done network-level experiments tally by OONI Probe app users successful around 170 countries each period (including Italy). Each of these experiments has a different methodology, each of which are publicly documented. Since these experiments are tally from section web vantage points, they connection unique insights into the accessibility aliases blocking of net services astatine the separator of the network. We people OONI Probe trial results (“measurements”) from astir the world arsenic open data successful real-time.

In June 2026, we collaborated pinch Women connected Web (WoW), a feminist nonprofit that facilitates entree to abortion accusation and care, connected a associated research report documenting the blocking of Women connected Web domains astir the world. We antecedently collaborated pinch Women connected Web connected a 2019 report documenting the blocking of Women connected Web successful respective countries (Brazil, Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Türkiye) based connected OONI data. This study was the first of its kind, arsenic nary different integer abortion providers had been known to look arsenic galore government-ordered blockages. In 2020, we besides documented the blocking of Women connected Web successful Spain. In the years pursuing these reports, Women connected Web’s activity connected fighting the censorship of their website has escalated to aggregate nationalist tribunal battles.

This study builds upon these erstwhile efforts. We analyse and archive the blocking of Women connected Web (www.womenonweb.org) and Women Help Women (womenhelp.org) successful Italy, some of which showed signs of blocking successful caller OONI data collected complete the past months. The extremity of this study is to archive and summation transparency astir really entree to Women connected Web (WoW) and Women Help Women (WHW) domains is being restricted successful Italy, thereby limiting entree to reproductive healthcare and authorities information.

In this report, we stock our findings from the study of OONI data, documenting the blocking of Women connected Web (www.womenonweb.org) and Women Help Women (womenhelp.org) domains successful Italy. Further specifications are shared successful the pursuing methods and findings sections.

Background

Abortion is legal upon petition successful Italy during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. After 12 weeks, abortion is disposable only if the pregnant person’s wellness is astatine consequence aliases if location are terrible fetal abnormalities. While medicine abortion tin legally beryllium administered successful family readying clinics, very fewer regions person afloat implemented these guidelines. Therefore entree remains uneven, challenging to navigate and successful believe abortion attraction is still provided chiefly successful hospitals.

Even if an abortion seeker is wrong the 12 week gestational limit and has entree to a section hospital, a expert tin move them distant connected the ground of conscientious objection, which legally allows immoderate expert to contradict a diligent an abortion connected civilized grounds. In 2019, it was reported that 67% of Italian gynecologists were registered arsenic conscientious objectors and aggregate hospitals reported having a 100% conscientious objection rate. If a attraction seeker tin find a expert who is consenting to execute an abortion, they must strengthen a 7-day waiting play betwixt their first petition for an abortion and the process (which tin push attraction seekers past the 12 week gestational limit). In April 2024, the Italian parliament passed a measure allowing anti-abortion activists to participate abortion consultation clinics.

Founded successful 2005, Women connected Web (WoW) is simply a nonprofit statement that was the first ever online world abortion attraction provider. Today, Women connected Web facilitates online entree to abortion pills, and carries retired investigation and world defense to demedicalize, destigmatize and decriminalize abortion. While Women connected Web initially focused connected supporting women and pregnant group successful countries wherever abortion was prohibited, their activity has since expanded to see countries wherever abortion is ineligible but remains difficult to access, specified arsenic Italy.

According to an Italian spokesperson for Women connected Web:

“Many travel to america because they person nary different choice, but complete the years we’ve noticed that much and much women simply want to person a serene abortion astatine home, via telemedicine, which is besides the guidance recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).”

Quite akin to Women connected Web (WoW), Women Help Women (WHW) is simply a feminist nonprofit statement that useful globally to grow entree to abortion medicines by providing online information, counseling, and support for self-managed abortion, while advocating to make abortion attraction safer, much accessible, and much community-led.

But arsenic of February 2026, OONI information suggests that immoderate ISPs successful Italy started blocking entree to some Women connected Web (WoW) and Women Help Women (WHW). In the pursuing sections, we stock the methods and findings of our study.

Methods

The extremity of this study was to analyse and archive the blocking of Women connected Web (WoW) and Women Help Women (WHW) domains successful Italy. This builds upon our astir caller study examining the blocking of Women connected Web domains astir the world, arsenic good arsenic our erstwhile studies documenting the blocking of Women connected Web successful Spain and successful several different countries (Brazil, Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Türkiye) based connected OONI data.

To this end, we analyzed OONI web measurement data collected from Italy, pertaining to the testing of Women connected Web (www.womenonweb.org) and Women Help Women (womenhelp.org) domains. OONI information is contributed by users of the OONI Probe software, which is designed to measure various forms of net censorship, including the blocking of websites. By default, OONI Probe users trial the websites included successful the public, community-curated Citizen Lab trial lists, which see a global list (including internationally-relevant URLs) and a country-specific list (limited to websites that are applicable to that country). OONI Probe users trial websites for censorship that are included successful some of these lists (the country-specific database is wished based connected the location of an OONI Probe user). Both Women connected Web (www.womenonweb.org) and Women Help Women (womenhelp.org) domains are included successful the global trial list for world OONI Probe testing.

The day scope of our study spanned from 1st November 2025 to 1st June 2026 to see caller findings. This scope was initially defined earlier Women Help Women (womenhelp.org) was added to the scope of the analysis.

OONI information analysis

To find whether and really entree to Women connected Web (www.womenonweb.org) and Women Help Women (womenhelp.org) domains was blocked successful Italy, we analyzed OONI data collected from Italy pertaining to the testing of these websites. The day scope of our study spanned from 1st November 2025 to 1st June 2026.

Specifically, we analyzed measurements collected globally from the OONI Probe Web Connectivity experiment, which is designed to measurement the blocking of websites. The OONI Web Connectivity experiment is designed to measurement the accessibility of URLs by performing the pursuing steps:

Resolver identification
DNS lookup
TCP link to the resolved IP addresses
TLS handshake to the resolved IP addresses
HTTP(s) GET petition pursuing redirects

The supra steps are automatically performed from some the section web of the user, and from a power vantage constituent (known non-censored network). If the results from some networks are the same, the tested URL is annotated arsenic accessible. If the results differ, the tested URL is annotated arsenic anomalous, and the type of anomaly is further characterized depending connected the logic that caused the nonaccomplishment (for example, if the TCP relationship fails, the measurement is annotated arsenic a TCP/IP anomaly).

Anomalous measurements whitethorn beryllium suggestive of blocking, but false positives tin occur. The likelihood of blocking is truthful greater if the wide measurement of anomalous measurements is precocious successful comparison to the wide measurement count – compared connected an AS level wrong the aforesaid day scope for each OONI Probe research type.

Each Web Connectivity measurement provides further web accusation (such arsenic accusation pertaining to TLS handshakes) that helps pinch evaluating whether an anomalous measurement presents signs of blocking. We truthful disaggregate based connected the reasons that caused the anomaly (e.g. relationship reset during the TLS handshake) and if they are consistent, they supply a stronger awesome of imaginable blocking.

Based connected OONI’s heuristics, we are capable to automatically corroborate the blocking of websites based connected fingerprints if a block page is served, aliases if DNS solution returns an IP reside known to beryllium associated pinch censorship. These blocking fingerprints alteration america to automatically corroborate website blocks successful galore countries – including Italy – wherever Internet Service Providers (ISPs) instrumentality blocks pinch these techniques.

In support of this study, we performed dedicated information study utilizing the OONI Pipeline v5 to analyse OONI Web Connectivity measurements collected from Italy (between 1st November 2025 to 1st June 2026) done the OONI Probe testing of Women connected Web (www.womenonweb.org) and Women Help Women (womenhelp.org) domains.

Through OONI information analysis, we aimed to reply the pursuing main investigation questions:

On which networks successful Italy do we observe the strongest signals of blocking?
How are Women connected Web (WoW) and Women Help Women (WHW) domains blocked connected each of those networks? Which censorship techniques do ISPs adopt?

We chose these investigation questions because they could thief corroborate the blocks and pass the standard of blocking of Women connected Web and Women Help Women domains.

The OONI Pipeline v5 enables america to enumerate and aggregate each the errors (e.g., tls.connection_reset) that emerged successful the testing of each of the Women connected Web (WoW) and Women Help Women (WHW) domains. As a much accordant correction observed successful a larger measurement of measurements provides a stronger awesome of blocking, we aggregated the errors to find whether a ample percent of measurements for a tested URL presented the aforesaid correction (e.g. “tls_timeout_error”) successful comparison to the wide measurement measure connected a circumstantial network, wrong a specified day range. The higher the ratio of accordant errors successful comparison to the wide measurement count, the stronger the awesome (and the greater our confidence) that entree to the tested domain is (a) blocked, and (b) blocked successful a circumstantial measurement (e.g TLS interference).

As portion of our analysis, we assigned assurance intervals to our censorship findings to separate betwixt those wherever OONI information provides a beardown awesome of blocking (“high confidence”) and little beardown signals (“medium confidence”). We excluded cases which provided anemic signals arsenic portion of the findings. Those included cases pinch debased measurement sum (in comparison to the wide measurement sum connected a tested AS during the study period), a debased percent of anomalies (in comparison to the wide measurement measure for a tested work connected a network), a comparatively ample proportionality of inconsistent nonaccomplishment types and errors, arsenic good arsenic cases which were wished to beryllium mendacious positives based connected known bugs aliases different issues (such arsenic world nonaccomplishment rates arsenic a consequence of tested services being hosted connected unreliable servers, aliases measurements collected from unreliable networks).

To guarantee much meticulous and reliable findings, we group a measurement period successful our analysis. We constricted our findings to the ASes which received the largest OONI measurement sum (and, therefore, the strongest blocking signals) for the Women connected Web and Women Help Women domains during the study play (1st November 2025 to 1st June 2026).

The information study we performed for this study is disposable here.

Findings

Women connected Web (WoW)

As of mid-February 2026, OONI information suggests that entree to Women connected Web’s main website (www.womenonweb.org) is blocked connected immoderate networks successful Italy. This is illustrated done the pursuing chart, which aggregates OONI measurement sum from the testing of www.womenonweb.org connected 69 ASes successful Italy betwixt 1st November 2026 to 1st June 2026.

Chart: Aggregated OONI measurement sum from the testing of Women connected Web’s main website (www.womenonweb.org) connected 69 ASes successful Italy betwixt 1st November 2025 to 1st June 2026 (source: OONI data).

As is evident from the supra chart, the mostly of OONI measurements antecedently indicated that www.womenonweb.org was accessible connected tested networks successful Italy, only presenting a spike successful anomalies from 18th February 2026 onwards, suggesting that entree to the tract was blocked connected immoderate networks astir that date. The persistent accrued measurement of anomalies thereafter provides a further awesome of blocking. It is worthy noting that the ample spike successful measurements visible successful the floor plan above, opening successful May 2026, does not needfully bespeak accrued blocking. Rather, it reflects an summation successful OONI Probe testing of www.womenonweb.org successful Italy because we accrued the testing priority of the site.

A per-network breakdown of the measurement sum shows that the testing of www.womenonweb.org presented the largest measurement of anomalies connected the pursuing 6 ASes: AS12874 (Fastweb), AS210278 (Sky Italia), AS29447 (Iliad/Scaleway), AS30722 (Vodafone Italia), AS35612 (EOLO), and AS41497 (INTRED).

Chart: Aggregated OONI measurement sum from the testing of Women connected Web’s main website (www.womenonweb.org) connected AS12874 (Fastweb), AS210278 (Sky Italia), AS29447 (Iliad/Scaleway), AS30722 (Vodafone Italia), AS35612 (EOLO), and AS41497 (INTRED) successful Italy betwixt 1st November 2025 to 1st June 2026 (source: OONI data).

As the OONI Probe testing of Women connected Web (www.womenonweb.org) consistently presented a ample measurement of anomalies connected each of these networks during the aforesaid months, OONI information suggests that entree to the website was blocked connected these networks. To corroborate blocking, we analyzed OONI information successful bid to find the origin of the anomalies, and to measure whether the testing of www.womenonweb.org presented accordant errors connected each network.

Based connected our study of applicable OONI measurements, we produced the pursuing charts which aggregate our study results from the OONI Probe testing of www.womeonweb.org connected each of the 6 networks that presented the largest volumes of anomalies and, therefore, the strongest signals of blocking. The pursuing floor plan aggregates our study results from the OONI Probe testing of Women connected Web (www.womenonweb.org) connected Iliad/Scaleway (AS29447) and INTRED (AS41497) successful Italy betwixt November 2025 to June 2026.

Chart: Analysis results from the OONI Probe testing of Women connected Web (www.womenonweb.org) connected Iliad/Scaleway (AS29447) and INTRED (AS41497) successful Italy betwixt November 2025 to June 2026 (source: OONI data).

Our study shows that the immense mostly of anomalous measurements presented signs of DNS tampering because a bogon IP (127.0.0.1) was returned arsenic portion of DNS resolution. This suggests that these ISPs successful Italy artifact entree to Women connected Web’s website chiefly astatine the DNS level.

Similarly, we observe that each OONI measurements collected from the testing of www.womenonweb.org connected Fastweb (AS12874) returned a bogon IP arsenic portion of DNS solution from 22nd February 2026 onwards, arsenic illustrated successful the floor plan below.

Chart: Analysis results from the OONI Probe testing of www.womenonweb.org connected Fastweb (AS12874) successful Italy betwixt November 2025 to June 2026, disaggregated by resolver ASN (source: OONI data).

Normally, the IP reside 127.0.0.1 should ne'er look successful the nationalist net because it is only meant for a instrumentality to pass pinch itself (which is why it’s referred to arsenic a “bogon”, “loopback address”, and a “localhost”). When the testing of a website returns the backstage IP 127.0.0.1 alternatively of the existent IP reside of a website, that is simply a beardown awesome of censorship. This IP is truthful included successful OONI’s blocking fingerprint database and utilized to automatically observe and corroborate blocks. OONI information shows that this backstage IP (127.0.0.1) was utilized by several ISPs successful Italy to artifact entree to Women connected Web’s main website (similarly to Iran, the Philippines, South Korea, and Spain). The main ASes successful Italy wherever OONI measurements recorded the bogon IP reside 127.0.0.1 successful DNS responses for www.womenonweb.org during the study play were Fastweb (AS12874), Iliad/Scaleway (AS29447), and INTRED (AS41497).

In different cases, DNS tampering was implemented by returning an NXDOMAIN error, which usually appears erstwhile a domain does not exist. Our study of OONI information shows that astatine slightest 2 ISPs successful Italy, Vodafone Italia (AS30722) and EOLO (AS35612), returned the NXDOMAIN error, falsely indicating that the Women connected Web domain does not exist. Instead of the contented of the Women connected Web website, users would spot thing for illustration the following:

Image: Example of a tract presenting an NXDOMAIN error.

Because an NXDOMAIN correction is intended to bespeak that a website does not exist, utilizing it to artifact entree to Women connected Web’s website whitethorn mislead users and create disorder astir the logic the tract is unavailable.

The pursuing 2 charts coming the results of our study of OONI Probe measurements for www.womenonweb.org connected Vodafone Italia (AS30722) and EOLO (AS35612), disaggregated by resolver ASN, showing that the DNS responses consistently returned NXDOMAIN errors, suggesting the usage of DNS tampering arsenic the blocking mechanism.

Chart: Analysis results from the OONI Probe testing of www.womenonweb.org connected Vodafone Italia (AS30722) successful Italy betwixt November 2025 to June 2026, disaggregated by resolver ASN (source: OONI data).

Chart: Analysis results from the OONI Probe testing of www.womenonweb.org connected EOLO (AS35612) successful Italy betwixt November 2025 to June 2026, disaggregated by resolver ASN (source: OONI data).

Since DNS anomalies are only observed erstwhile the resolver ASN matches the probe ASN, this powerfully suggests resolver-side interference by the ISPs’ ain DNS infrastructure, alternatively than DNS spoofing.

We besides observed measurements pinch TLS certificate validation failures (annotated arsenic tls.bad_cert) that look to beryllium linked to unexpected DNS responses. This was chiefly observed connected Sky Italia (AS210278), arsenic illustrated successful the floor plan below.

Chart: Analysis results from the OONI Probe testing of www.womenonweb.org connected Sky Italia (AS210278) successful Italy betwixt November 2025 to June 2026, disaggregated by resolver ASN (source: OONI data).

Specifically, OONI measurements from the testing of www.womenonweb.org connected Sky Italia (AS210278) from mid-February 2026 onwards show that the IP 195.162.95.240 is returned arsenic portion of DNS solution (instead of the existent IP reside for www.womenonweb.org), resulting successful TLS certificate validation failures. This is besides evident successful the pursuing chart, which shows that Sky Italia switched to returning the IP 195.162.95.240 (instead of the IP 188.245.230.228) arsenic portion of DNS solution for www.womenonweb.org successful mid-February 2026.

However, the IP 195.162.95.240, which is an IP scope allocated to Sky Italia, is utilized to big a ineligible artifact page, and this was besides antecedently reportedly utilized arsenic portion of different blocks nether the country’s automated Privacy Shield strategy (for example, successful the accidental blocking of Google Drive successful October 2024). OONI measurements show that the TLS certificate presented by Sky Italia contains the hostname blocking.it.isp.sky arsenic some its Common Name (CN) and its Subject Alternative Name (SAN), confirming the blocking of www.womenonweb.org.

Women Help Women (WHW)

Similarly to Women connected Web (www.womenonweb.org), OONI information suggests that ISPs successful Italy besides started blocking entree to Women Help Women (womenhelp.org) by intends of DNS tampering successful mid-February 2026. This is illustrated done the pursuing chart, which aggregates the results of our analysis.

Chart: Aggregate study results from the OONI Probe testing of womenhelp.org connected aggregate ASes successful Italy betwixt November 2025 to June 2026 (source: OONI data).

As is evident from the supra chart, almost each erstwhile measurements indicated that womenhelp.org was antecedently accessible connected tested networks successful Italy, while only starting to show accrued signs of blocking from mid-February 2026 onwards. Most of the anomalous measurements show signs of DNS tampering, arsenic galore measurements returned NXDOMAIN errors aliases bogon IPs arsenic portion of DNS resolution, while fewer measurements during this play besides presented TLS certificate validation failures. This is very accordant pinch what is observed successful the testing of Women connected Web, discussed previously.

A per-network breakdown of the measurement sum shows that the testing of womenhelp.org presented the largest measurement of anomalies connected the pursuing 6 ASes: Sky Italia (AS210278), EOLO (AS35612), Vodafone Italia (AS30722), Iliad/Scaleway (AS29447), WIND TRE (AS1267), and Fastweb (AS12874).

Chart: Aggregated OONI measurement sum from the testing of Women Help Women’s main website (womenhelp.org) connected Sky Italia (AS210278), EOLO (AS35612), Vodafone Italia (AS30722), Iliad/Scaleway (AS29447), WIND TRE (AS1267), and Fastweb (AS12874) successful Italy betwixt 1st November 2025 to 1st June 2026 (source: OONI data).

As the OONI Probe testing of Women Help Women (womenhelp.org) consistently presented a ample measurement of anomalies connected each of these networks during the aforesaid months, OONI information suggests that entree to the website was blocked connected these networks. To corroborate blocking, we analyzed OONI information successful bid to find the origin of the anomalies, and to measure whether the testing of womenhelp.org presented accordant errors connected each network.

Based connected our study of applicable OONI measurements, we produced the pursuing charts which aggregate our study results from the OONI Probe testing of womenhelp.org connected each of the 6 networks that presented the largest volumes of anomalies and, therefore, the strongest signals of blocking.

Our study shows that a bogon IP (127.0.0.1) was returned arsenic portion of DNS solution connected Fastweb (AS12874) and Iliad/Scaleway (AS29447), arsenic illustrated successful the pursuing 2 charts.

Chart: Analysis results from the OONI Probe testing of womenhelp.org connected Fastweb (AS12874) successful Italy betwixt November 2025 to June 2026, disaggregated by resolver ASN (source: OONI data).

Chart: Analysis results from the OONI Probe testing of womenhelp.org connected Iliad/Scaleway (AS29447) successful Italy betwixt November 2025 to June 2026, disaggregated by resolver ASN (source: OONI data).

In some of the supra 2 cases, we observe that the mostly of OONI measurements from 22nd February 2026 onwards returned a bogon IP (127.0.0.1) arsenic portion of DNS resolution, alternatively of the IP for womenhelp.org. Normally, the IP reside 127.0.0.1 should ne'er look successful the nationalist net because it is only meant for a instrumentality to pass pinch itself (which is why it’s referred to arsenic a “bogon”, “loopback address”, and a “localhost”). When the testing of a website returns the backstage IP 127.0.0.1 alternatively of the existent IP reside of a website, that is simply a beardown awesome of censorship. This IP is truthful included successful OONI’s blocking fingerprint database and utilized to automatically observe and corroborate blocks.

In different cases, DNS tampering was implemented by returning an NXDOMAIN error, which usually appears erstwhile a domain does not exist. Our study of OONI information shows that astatine slightest 3 ISPs successful Italy returned the NXDOMAIN error, falsely indicating that the Women Help Women (WHW) domain does not exist: Vodafone Italia (AS30722), EOLO (AS35612), and WIND TRE (AS1267). This is illustrated done the pursuing 3 charts, which coming the aggregate results of our study for each of these 3 networks.

Chart: Analysis results from the OONI Probe testing of womenhelp.org connected Vodafone Italia (AS30722) successful Italy betwixt November 2025 to June 2026, disaggregated by resolver ASN (source: OONI data).

Chart: Analysis results from the OONI Probe testing of womenhelp.org connected EOLO (AS35612) successful Italy betwixt November 2025 to June 2026, disaggregated by resolver ASN (source: OONI data).

Chart: Analysis results from the OONI Probe testing of womenhelp.org connected WIND TRE (AS1267) successful Italy betwixt November 2025 to June 2026, disaggregated by resolver ASN (source: OONI data).

On each of the supra 3 networks, we observe that the blocking of Women Help Women (womenhelp.org) started astatine astir the aforesaid time. While astir of erstwhile measurements were successful, the mostly of measurements from mid-February 2026 started returning NXDOMAIN errors connected each of these networks. However, the astir caller measurements collected from WIND TRE (AS1267) returned a bogon IP, suggesting a caller alteration successful censorship methods.

By returning an NXDOMAIN error, alternatively of the contented of the Women Help Women website, users successful Italy would spot thing for illustration the following:

Image: Example of a tract presenting an NXDOMAIN error.

Because an NXDOMAIN correction is intended to bespeak that a website does not exist, utilizing it to artifact entree to Women Help Women’s website whitethorn mislead users and create disorder astir the logic the tract is unavailable.

Similarly to the blocking of Women connected Web (WoW), OONI measurements of Women Help Women (womenhelp.org) connected Sky Italia (AS210278) from mid-February 2026 onwards show that requests are redirected to the IP reside 195.162.95.240, wherever a server presents a TLS certificate for blocking.it.isp.sky. This hostname mismatch results successful TLS certificate validation failures, arsenic illustrated below.

Chart: Analysis results from the OONI Probe testing of womenhelp.org connected Sky Italia (AS210278) successful Italy betwixt November 2025 to June 2026, disaggregated by resolver ASN (source: OONI data).

Specifically, OONI measurements from the testing of womenhelp.org connected Sky Italia (AS210278) from mid-February 2026 onwards show that the IP 195.162.95.240 is returned arsenic portion of DNS solution (instead of the existent IP reside for www.womenonweb.org), resulting successful TLS certificate validation failures. This is besides evident successful the pursuing chart, which shows that Sky Italia switched to returning the IP 195.162.95.240 arsenic portion of DNS solution for womenhelp.org successful mid-February 2026.

OONI measurements show that Sky Italia returned the IP reside 195.162.95.240 successful DNS responses for womenhelp.org. The server astatine that reside presented a TLS certificate containing the hostname blocking.it.isp.sky, resulting successful TLS certificate validation failures.

Overall, our study recovered accordant blocking techniques crossed the aforesaid networks for some Women connected Web (www.womenonweb.org) and Women Help Women (womenhelp.org), expanding our assurance successful the findings of this study.

Acknowledgement of limitations

The findings of this study coming respective limitations, including:

Date scope of analysis. The findings are constricted to OONI measurements collected betwixt 1st November 2025 to 1st June 2026. As a result, findings from measurements collected successful different day ranges are excluded from this study.
Type of measurements. The findings chiefly impact OONI Web Connectivity measurements pertaining to the testing of websites for censorship. As a result, findings from other OONI Probe experiments (particularly those that don’t measurement the blocking of websites) are excluded from this study.
Tested websites. We constricted our study to Women connected Web (www.womenonweb.org) and Women Help Women (womenhelp.org) domains arsenic portion of our extremity to analyse their blocking successful Italy. As a result, the findings of this study do not screen the blocking of different reproductive authorities websites.
Tested ASes. While OONI Probe tests are regularly performed connected aggregate ASes successful Italy, not each networks are tested equally. Rather, the readiness of measurements depends connected which networks OONI Probe users were connected to erstwhile performing tests. As a result, the measurement sum varies crossed ASes passim the study period, impacting the findings. Moreover, we constricted the findings of this study to the ASes which received the largest measurement sum and which, therefore, presented the strongest blocking signals during the study period.
Blocking signals. As portion of our information analysis, we chiefly focused connected signals that we considered much reliable and suggestive of government-commissioned censorship, while excluding cases viewed arsenic presenting anemic signals (as discussed antecedently successful the “Methods” section). As a result, we admit the consequence of perchance having missed immoderate blocking cases successful our findings (if those cases were annotated pinch anemic signals arsenic portion of our information analysis).

Conclusion

Censorship of reproductive healthcare and authorities accusation is not constricted to countries wherever abortion is forbidden aliases legally restricted. Our study of OONI data shows that entree to reproductive authorities accusation has besides been restricted successful European countries specified arsenic Italy and Spain, wherever abortion is ineligible but tin stay difficult to entree successful practice.

In Italy, OONI information indicates that ISPs chiefly artifact entree to the Women connected Web (WoW) and Women Help Women (WHW) websites done DNS tampering. Because these censorship techniques often do not supply users pinch a clear denotation that entree has been intentionally blocked, users whitethorn correction censorship for a method failure, highlighting the request for greater transparency.

These findings raise important questions astir the necessity and proportionality of specified blocking measures, peculiarly successful ray of the basal correct to entree information. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), entree to meticulous wellness accusation is simply a cardinal constituent of enabling individuals to understand their healthcare options, make informed decisions, and safely navigate reproductive healthcare. Restricting entree to specified accusation whitethorn truthful consequence undermining people’s expertise to get timely and safe attraction and, ultimately, to workout their reproductive authorities effectively.