Spain orders NordVPN, ProtonVPN to block LaLiga piracy sites

Source: Bleeping Computer

Court order

A Spanish court has granted precautionary measures against NordVPN and ProtonVPN, ordering the two popular VPN providers to block 16 websites that facilitate piracy of football matches. The restrictions will apply to a dynamic list of IP addresses in Spain, and there will be no opportunity for appeals. The measures were taken inaudita parte, meaning that the defendants weren’t called to participate in a hearing.

LaLiga – the country’s professional football organizer – and its broadcasting partner, Telefónica, are required to “preserve sufficient digital evidence of the unlawful transmission of the protected contents.”

LaLiga’s stance

LaLiga has shown a strong stance against the piracy ecosystem in recent years, previously targeting Cloudflare, accusing the internet giant of facilitating illegal sports streaming. The organization argued that the VPN providers fall under the EU Digital Services Regulation and therefore have a duty to help prevent copyright infringement carried out through their infrastructure.

“The orders identify how VPN systems prove to be a suitable means, ‘highly effective and accessible to generate the possibility of access to content not accessible in certain geographic points,’ distorting the real geographic location of online access, and facilitating ‘access to websites that broadcast protected content illegally,’” – LaLiga’s announcement.

LaLiga characterized the ruling as unprecedented in Spain, aligning it with similar decisions in France, and celebrated that the liability of VPN providers for piracy is now clearly recognized.

Responses from VPN providers

ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN took to Twitter to question the decision, stating that it had no awareness of the proceedings and had not been formally notified.

“Any judicial order issued without proper notification to the affected parties, thereby denying them the opportunity to be heard, would be procedurally invalid under fundamental principles of due process,” – ProtonVPN tweet.

NordVPN

NordVPN’s spokesperson Laura Tyrylyte told BleepingComputer that the company was not involved in any legal proceedings in Spain and had not received the judicial documents.

“At this stage, we have not received the judicial documents mentioned in the press so it will be premature to comment without having reviewed them. We were not part of any Spanish judicial proceedings to our knowledge, and therefore had no opportunity to defend ourselves. Given such judgments impact on how the Internet operates, such an approach by rightsholders is unacceptable.”

Tyrylyte added that blocking domains is ineffective in the fight against piracy because it does not address the root cause. She suggested targeting hosting providers, cutting off financing for illegal operations, and increasing the availability of legitimate content.

“Effective piracy control should focus on eliminating the source of the content, targeting hosting providers, cutting off financing for illegal operations, and increasing the availability of legitimate content.”

NordVPN also noted that the measures affect mostly reputable, paid VPN providers, while free services continue to operate largely unhindered.

“Free VPNs are often harder to regulate and, since users who seek to avoid paying for content are unlikely to pay for a VPN either, these services remain a loophole for pirates to bypass restrictions.”