What is 451 Unavailable for Legal Reasons?
The HTTP 451 unavailable for legal reasons is an HTTP status code that indicates a website is unavailable due to legal restrictions. This could be because the government of the country you are browsing from blocked every resident from accessing the URL, or the site blocked you to comply with the laws of that country.
The 451 unavailable for legal reasons error is also called the censorship error. It is named after Ray Bradbury’s 1953 novel Fahrenheit 451, which is about censorship. The novel is set in a world where books are banned, and firefighters must burn any they find.
That said, the 451 unavailable for legal reasons status code belongs to the 4xx series of HTTP status codes.
4indicates the error is a client errorxxis a placeholder for two numbers that provide additional information about the status of the HTTP request
Other common 4xx errors include:
- 403 Proibito: Indicates the server understands the request but refuses to authorize it
- 404 non trovato: Indicates the requested resource was not found on the server
- 410 Andato: Indicates the requested resource has been permanently deleted from the web
Causes of 451 Unavailable for Legal Reasons
A URL will return the 451 unavailable for legal reasons error in one of two circumstances:
- If a blogger blocks visitors from accessing the URL because of a legal ruling or to avoid potential litigation or legal penalties
- If a government, search engine, internet service provider, or server operator blocks visitors from accessing a URL because it does not comply with a nation’s law
Bloggers can block all visitors from accessing specific URLs on their site. They may also use geolocation to identify and block visitors from a specific country or territory. In the case of a government, they may block or instruct a search engine, internet service provider, or server operator to block their residents from accessing specific URLs.
Websites can customize the specific message to display when they refuse visitors from accessing a URL for legal reasons. However, it is recommended to specify multiple details about the legal issue, including:
- The claimant
- The law that is being implemented
- The type of visitors that are affected by the error
Importance of the 451 Unavailable for Legal Reasons
The 451 unavailable for legal reasons error allows bloggers, search engines, server operators, and internet service providers to inform visitors why they cannot access a URL.
Countries and political unions often have laws that require bloggers to meet specific requirements. For example, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union (EU) specifies how bloggers should access and store data belonging to visitors based in the EU.
When the blogger does not meet those requirements, the European Union can order EU-based internet service providers to block EU visitors from accessing the URL. Similarly, bloggers who cannot or do not want to comply with the GDPR law can configure their site to return the 451 unavailable for legal reasons status code for EU visitors.
Before the 451 error code was introduced, sites typically returned a 403 Forbidden or 404 Not Found whenever content became unavailable for legal reasons. Many sites still return these errors because they do not know how to configure the 451 error or do not want to specify that the government has blocked the URL.
Therefore, the absence of the 451 error does not indicate censorship. However, returning codes other than 451 may confuse certain visitors, particularly those who know about HTTP status codes, and cause them to misdiagnose the cause of the error.
Implications of the 451 Unavailable for Legal Reasons
The 451 unavailable for legal reasons is a controversial status code. Its existence has led to concerns about government censorship. Many even call it the ‘censorship error’ because it indicates that their government restricts their access to certain information.
While a government or court can cause a blogger to remove content due to copyright or privacy infringements, there are concerns that the government may exploit such laws for political purposes.
Meanwhile, supporters of the 451 status code say it ensures transparency and allows independent bodies to monitor government censorship. They say governments that censor the web for political reasons are unlikely to return the 451 status code.
Such governments will either return some other error code or remove the URL altogether without giving visitors a clue as to whether it ever existed.
How to Fix the 451 Unavailable for Legal Reasons
You can fix the 451 unavailable for legal reasons by using a VPN (virtual private network). Most bloggers, governments, internet service providers, and search engines implement censorship on a location basis. That is, they prevent visitors from a specific location from accessing specific URLs.
However, a VPN allows you to change your location. In this case, it routes your internet connection through servers in countries or regions other than yours. This allows you to bypass legal restrictions that apply to your location.
However, remember that the 451 unavailable for legal reasons error does not indicate the existence or nonexistence of content at the URL. So, the URL may not contain any content even after you bypass the restrictions using a VPN.
How to Prevent the 451 Unavailable for Legal Reasons Error
Bloggers can prevent governments from implementing 451 unavailable for legal reasons by ensuring that their site, content, and webpages comply with local laws, even if they think it is controversial.
Bloggers should pay attention to privacy, copyright, censorship, and content restriction laws in the regions where their target audience resides. This is important as government-instructed takedowns may come with bans, litigation, and financial penalties.
In cases where the blogger cannot enforce local law, they should consider using geolocation services to identify their visitor’s locations and restrict them based on that.