All HTTP status codes
4xx Client Error
RFC 7725
451 Unavailable For Legal Reasons
The resource is unavailable due to legal demands (censorship, court order, GDPR).
What it means
HTTP 451 Unavailable For Legal Reasons (named after Fahrenheit 451) indicates the resource has been blocked due to a legal demand such as a court order, government censorship, or DMCA takedown.
When it's used
Geo-blocking due to GDPR, court-ordered content removal, DMCA takedowns, government censorship.
Common causes
- EU users blocked due to GDPR non-compliance
- Court-ordered content removal
- DMCA takedown response
- Government-mandated censorship
How to fix it
- Comply with the legal requirement and block the content
- Provide a Link header pointing to information about the legal block
- Restore content if the legal issue is resolved
Example response
HTTP/1.1 451 Unavailable For Legal Reasons Link: <https://example.com/takedown-info>; rel="blocked-by"
SEO impact
Page will be deindexed. Use only when legally required.