A Spanish court has ordered NordVPN and ProtonVPN to block access to 16 pirate sites, but both companies say they haven’t received anything.
A court in Córdoba has ordered NordVPN and ProtonVPN to block access to 16 pirate websites that stream Spanish LaLiga matches. The request was filed by LaLiga and telecom operator Telefónica on the basis of the Digital Services Act. Both companies say they have not received any notification related to the proceedings.
Do VPNs have to block pirate sites?
As is well known, Italy has the Piracy Shield platform, which CDN and VPN providers are also expected to join (Cloudflare has launched a legal fight with AGCOM). Spain has no similar obligation, so blocking orders are issued by the courts. Exactly one year ago, LaLiga accused Cloudflare of facilitating various illegal activities, including access to pirate sites streaming football matches.
Now it’s the turn of two popular VPNs. The press release states that a commercial court in Córdoba granted the requested “inaudita parte” interim measures against NordVPN and ProtonVPN, acknowledging the responsibility of these intermediaries in the spread of piracy. “Inaudita parte” means the measures were granted without an adversarial hearing (i.e., without the other party being heard).
The blocking orders recognize that VPN providers are intermediaries that fall within the scope of the EU’s Digital Services regulation, meaning they are subject to an obligation to prevent violations through their infrastructure. The orders also highlight that NordVPN and ProtonVPN advertise the possibility of bypassing geographic restrictions.
The two companies must immediately implement appropriate measures to make the IP addresses of 16 pirate sites streaming audiovisual content protected by copyright inaccessible from Spain. These orders cannot be appealed.
ProtonVPN posted this statement on X:
We have become aware of recent reports regarding legal proceedings in Spain that may affect VPN services, including Proton VPN. We were not aware of any ongoing proceeding prior to the publication of these reports and we have not been formally notified of any proceeding or ruling. Moreover, any court order issued without proper notification to the affected parties, denying them the opportunity to be heard, would be procedurally invalid under fundamental principles of due process.
This is NordVPN’s official statement:
We have not received the court documents cited by the press, so it would be premature to comment without having reviewed them. We did not take part in any Spanish court proceedings and therefore had no opportunity to defend ourselves. Given that such rulings impact how the Internet functions, this approach by rights holders is unacceptable.
Spokesperson Laura Tyrylyte added that domain blocking is ineffective in the fight against piracy, because pirates can use subdomains to bypass restrictions. She also noted that pirates often use free VPNs which unlike paid services are not affected by blocking measures.
A global VPN against censorship: freedom.gov is the US idea
The United States is preparing to launch a portal that would work like a VPN capable of bypassing censorship worldwide.
“Freedom Is Coming”. That’s what appears on the homepage of freedom.gov. Above, there’s an animation of someone on horseback (a soldier from the War of Independence?). Below is the phrase: “Information is power. Claim your human right to free expression. Get ready”. Reuters revealed what it is in an exclusive report.
freedom.gov to bypass any censorship
It’s a portal the US State Department is preparing to allow people around the world to access content banned in their countries. This could also include content linked to hate speech and terrorist propaganda. The method is simple: the site would function like a VPN.
The goal is to fight censorship. The project is led by Under Secretary Sarah Rogers. According to what emerged, a presentation was scheduled for last week at the Munich Security Conference, but it was postponed for unspecified reasons.
A diplomatic incident waiting to happen
While waiting for an official announcement, it’s not hard to imagine the launch could trigger a (yet another) diplomatic incident between the United States and the rest of the world especially Europe. For now there is only a spokesperson’s statement that sounds like a half-confirmation:
digital freedom is a priority for the State Department and that includes the proliferation of privacy and censorship-circumvention technologies like VPNs.
In Europe, freedom of expression and access to information has to contend with guardrails designed to reduce risks tied to sensitive issues such as Nazi propaganda and all forms of discrimination.
We don’t know when freedom.gov will arrive, nor whether it will be as effective as promised. There are many unknowns: how will browsing data collected about users be handled? Could it also have consequences for piracy? What would happen if individual countries decided to block the portal?
