Italy Blocks Reproductive Health Websites Women on Web and Women Help Women
A report by OONI reveals that several Italian ISPs have been blocking reproductive health websites Women on Web and Women Help Women since early 2026. The blocking was achieved through DNS tampering, limiting access to abortion information.
Why it matters
This highlights the intersection of digital censorship and reproductive rights, raising concerns about internet freedom and access to healthcare information.
Maria Xynou (OONI), Arturo Filastò (OONI), Mehul Gulati (OONI), Venny Ala-Siurua (Women on Web), Hannes-Jeremia Jaacks (Women on Web), 2026-07-28
In this report, we share OONI data on the blocking of the Women on Web (WoW) and Women Help Women (WHW) websites in Italy. These websites facilitate access to reproductive health care and offer abortion information.
Key findings Our analysis of OONI data collected from OONI Probe tests of Women on Web ( www.womenonweb.org ) and Women Help Women ( womenhelp.org ) in Italy between 1 November 2025 and 1 June 2026 indicates that at least 6 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - including several of Italy's largest networks by end-user population - began blocking access to both domains in mid-February 2026 through DNS tampering .
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