EU Launches Independent DNS Service to Enhance Digital Sovereignty

The European Union has officially launched its own DNS resolution service, aimed at empowering citizens to rely less on major U.S. companies like Cloudflare and Google. Named DNS4EU, this service allows users to customize their internet experience by filtering out unwanted content, including phishing and fraudulent websites, as well as age-inappropriate material and advertisements.

A DNS resolver is a crucial, albeit often unnoticed, service that ensures stable internet access. It operates in the background, typically managed by internet service providers, converting domain names such as www.example.com into IP addresses that computers use to communicate. In several countries, including Germany, access restrictions implemented by lobby groups or child protection authorities are often enforced at the DNS level. Consequently, many users turn to alternative DNS providers, such as Google, which offers a widely used resolver at 8.8.8.8, handling over a billion queries daily. Other notable providers include Cloudflare and Quad9, which also run public resolvers. However, the fact that many of these servers are situated in the U.S. raises concerns about privacy and data sovereignty.

With DNS4EU, the EU aims to provide a locally managed alternative, offering citizens the ability to select a DNS resolver that meets their specific needs. The service currently features four distinct filtering options that can be combined:

• Unfiltered DNS responses for users who prefer no restrictions or maintain their own filter lists.
• A blocklist targeting phishing and malware sites.
• A youth protection filter that excludes harmful, violent, or otherwise undesirable content.
• A DNS-level ad-blocking feature.

DNS4EU supports both IPv4 and IPv6 queries and can be accessed via DNS over HTTPS (DoH) and DNS over TLS (DoT). Users can find resolver addresses categorized by their filtering purpose on the project's website, which uses Cloudflare for proxy and DDoS protection. To enhance reliability, DNS4EU provides two IP addresses for both IPv4 and IPv6 queries.

For its filtering lists, DNS4EU utilizes publicly available databases, such as the Bon-Apetit list for pornographic domains and the Goodbyeads list for advertisements. Users can report any mistakenly blocked domains or those absent from the lists through a dedicated feedback form.

The service operators emphasize that DNS4EU resolvers do not engage in 'legal filtering' and are not intended as tools for censorship. An evaluation of several domains indicated that the service does not restrict access to any listed addresses, resolving them similarly to Google's DNS servers. Domains typically blocked by other providers, such as YouPorn, remain accessible unless users activate the youth protection filter.

Various domain registrars and DNS companies, including deSEC from Berlin, are behind the project. As the EU funding period concludes at the end of 2025, DNS4EU is set to transition to commercialization, potentially operating under a profit-oriented structure. Initial phases of commercialization have already begun, with the spin-off company Whalebone assisting businesses and government entities in using DNS to identify threats and prevent cyberattacks.