Court orders NordVPN and Proton VPN to block pirate streamers in Spain

February 18 – The ongoing war against streaming piracy is back in court, this time in Spain, with another victory for copyright owners and their broadcast buyers.

LaLiga and its broadcast partner, Telefónica, have obtained a court order forcing VPN providers NordVPN and Proton VPN to block access to 16 websites accused of illegally streaming LaLiga matches.

The decision requires VPN services to immediately make the site’s IP address inaccessible from within Spain.

The league said the decision recognizes “the responsibility of these technological intermediaries in the process of LALIGA match piracy.”

The court agreed that VPN providers qualify as technology intermediaries under the European Digital Services Regulation and are therefore obliged to “prevent infringements being committed under their infrastructure.”

VPNs are designed to protect privacy by masking a user’s IP address and location, but they exist in a gray area. They are a tool for security and data protection, especially in countries where governments overzealously police every internet search, but they can also be used to bypass geo-blocking and paid subscription barriers.

The order was issued “ex parte,” meaning without the presence of all parties, and the judge cited the urgency and need to ensure the effectiveness of the measure. They cannot appeal.

Both VPN companies said they were unaware of any proceedings until media reports emerged.

“To our knowledge, we were not part of the judicial process in Spain, and therefore had no chance to defend ourselves. Given the impact the judgment has on how the Internet works, such an approach by rights holders is unacceptable,” said Laura Tyrylyte, privacy advocate at NordVPN.

Tyrylyte also questions the effectiveness of domain blocking.

“Pirates can easily circumvent these blocks by using subdomains: blocking does not remove the content itself or reduce incentives for piracy,” he said.

LaLiga, recently launched a reward scheme offering €50 for verified reports of businesses broadcasting matches illegally, while directing fans to subtle markers on the screen that help identify legitimate broadcasts.

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