4xx Client Error

HTTP 451 Unavailable For Legal Reasons

The server is denying access to the resource as a consequence of a legal demand. The response should include an explanation of the legal restriction in the body and a Link header to the legal authority.

Common Causes

  • Government censorship or court-ordered block
  • DMCA takedown or copyright claim
  • GDPR-related content restriction by region
  • Sanctions or trade embargo restrictions

How to Fix

  1. 1Check if the content is available in a different jurisdiction
  2. 2Review the legal notice in the response for details
  3. 3Contact the site operator for more information
  4. 4Consult legal counsel if you believe the block is unjustified

Example

HTTP 451 Unavailable For Legal Reasons
GET /blocked-content HTTP/1.1

→ 451 Unavailable For Legal Reasons
→ Link: <https://legal.example.com>; rel="blocked-by"

Related Client Error Codes

400

Bad Request

401

Unauthorized

402

Payment Required

403

Forbidden

404

Not Found

405

Method Not Allowed

406

Not Acceptable

407

Proxy Authentication Required

408

Request Timeout

409

Conflict

410

Gone

411

Length Required

412

Precondition Failed

413

Content Too Large

414

URI Too Long

415

Unsupported Media Type

416

Range Not Satisfiable

417

Expectation Failed

418

I'm a Teapot

421

Misdirected Request

422

Unprocessable Content

423

Locked

424

Failed Dependency

425

Too Early

426

Upgrade Required

428

Precondition Required

429

Too Many Requests

431

Request Header Fields Too Large