The EU challenges Google and Cloudflare with its very own DNS resolver that can filter dangerous traffic chiara.castro@futurenet.com (Chiara Castro) | usagoldmines.com

• The EU unveiled its very own DNS resolver, promising to be more privacy-compliant and cyber resilient
• The DNS4EU comes as an alternative to major US-based services and includes built-in filters to block dangerous traffic
• While it remains voluntary for all EU citizens, some privacy experts warn against potential issues around content filtering and privacy

The European Union has officially unveiled its very own DNS resolver, which promises to strengthen privacy and security for EU citizens, government organizations, and telecom providers across the bloc.

The DNS4EU wants to be an alternative to major US-based public DNS services (like Google and Cloudflare) to boost the EU’s digital autonomy by reducing European reliance on foreign infrastructure.

This isn’t only an EU-developed DNS, though. The DNS4EU comes with built-in filters against malicious domains, like those hosting malware, phishing, or other cybersecurity threats. The home user version also includes the possibility to block ads and/or adult content.

While its usage remains voluntary, some privacy experts warn against potential issues around content filtering and privacy.

What is the DNS4EU?

As the EU Commission wrote on its official website: “The goal of DNS4EU is to ensure the digital sovereignty of the EU by providing a private, safe, and independent European DNS resolver.”

Short for Domain Name System, a DNS resolver acts as the Internet phone book, translating user requests into strings of numbers – IP addresses – to connect them with the right websites.

Every time you connect to the internet, it’s your Internet Service Provider (ISP) that chooses the DNS to reroute your traffic. Yet, an organization or end users alike might choose to switch services to improve connection speeds, enhance security and privacy, or better control the content geo-location (similarly to what the best VPN do).

First unveiled in October 2022, the project was developed under the supervision of the EU cybersecurity agency ENISA and is currently managed by a pan-European consortium led by Czech cybersecurity firm Whalebone, which includes experts from across 10 EU countries.

The DNS4EU, which the EU ensures “will not be forced on anyone,” has been developed to meet different users’ needs.

The home users’ version is a public and free DNS resolver that comes with the option to add filters to block ads, malware, adult content, or all of these, or none. There’s also a dedicated version for government entities and telecom providers that operate within the European Union.

As mentioned earlier, the DNS4EU comes with a built-in filter to block dangerous traffic alongside the ability to provide regional threat intelligence. This means that a malicious threat discovered in one country could be blocked simultaneously across several regions and countries, de facto halting its spread.

“DNS4EU threat intelligence is enhanced by Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) and other institutions all around the EU, providing information on EU-specific threats, as well as by the data about cyberattacks gathered through the telco partners,” the EU explains.

What are the experts saying?

The ability to filter unwanted content has sparked concerns among experts since its inception.

For example, speaking to Torrentfreak in 2022, a former MEP for the German Pirate Party, Patrick Breyer, pointed out how “a government-run DSA scheme comes with the risk of online censorship.”

Talking to TechRadar at the time of writing, Breyer welcomes the decision to leave traffic filtering capabilities as optional. “However, it remains to be seen how the operator will react to demands for filtering. Using a government-sponsored service can be a risk because of law enforcement and intelligence agencies’ wishes,” he said.

The Senior Director for European Government and Regulatory Affairs at the Internet Society, David Frautschy Heredia, also warns against potential risks related to content filtering, arguing that “safeguards should be developed to prevent abuse.”

Heredia also fears that applying geographic borders to global infrastructure may bring more harm than good in the long run.

He told TechRadar: “This normalizes the approach and could inspire other actors around the world to introduce their own DNS resolvers, which may be mandatory to use. Other countries, including Mauritius and Kazakhstan, have previously attempted to impose the mandatory use of national DNS resolvers, with the capability of indiscriminate filtering.”

Besides these potential issues, Breyer also noted that the DNS4EU lacks a no-log policy. This is a guarantee that no record of users’ activities is ever stored.

As per the DNS4EU policy issued on June 1, 2025, the service collects a limited number of DNS query data and IP addresses. The latter are most anonymized directly on the DNS resolver.

Yet, “The logging of all requests – even if mostly anonymised – comes with risks,” Breyer told us.

On its side, the EU promises to never share any information that could identify an individual. It also rejects any concerns about censorship, promising the EU will not have any access to configuration and users’ data alike.

“DNS4EU is not a way toward censorship, but actually toward data protection and better internet security and sovereignty for Europeans,” reads the official website.

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