A landmark legal decision in Paris has mandated five prominent VPN providers to restrict access to a series of illegal football streaming platforms, marking a significant step in the ongoing battle against online piracy. The order, issued on December 18th, directs NordVPN, Surfshark, Proton VPN, ExpressVPN, and CyberGhost to block access to 13 specific piracy sites, aligning with the interests of the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP).

This directive is not isolated; it follows a similar ruling from May 2025, which required these VPN services to block 203 domains linked to unauthorized sports streaming. Industry experts and VPN providers expressed concerns about the potential implications for online privacy and security, warning that such measures could set a troubling precedent.

Since the initial ruling, authorities have continued to enforce restrictions, with additional orders in June and July, prompted by requests from French broadcasters like BeIN Sports and Canal+. The latest order mandates the VPNs to employ "any effective means" within three days to prevent access to the targeted sites from France, with these measures remaining in effect throughout the 2025/2026 football season, which concludes in May 2026.

The scope of the blocked sites may expand during the season, as the LFP and regulatory body ARCOM can request further additions to combat ongoing piracy threats. This ongoing legal effort underscores the balance between protecting intellectual property rights and maintaining online privacy and security.

Legal and technical challenges emerged as VPN providers contested the recent court order targeting illegal football streams.

NordVPN and Surfshark argued that their strict no-logs policies prevent them from tracing user identities within France, emphasizing that tracking geolocation data would breach their contractual commitments.

The court countered that blocking access to illicit websites does not necessitate continuous retention of user information, dismissing these concerns.

Additionally, the VPN companies questioned the legal classification of "technical intermediaries" under article l. 333-10 of the sports code, but the judge reaffirmed VPNs as pivotal in online piracy and held them liable accordingly.

Both providers highlighted the practicality issues with the blocking measures, noting that users could easily switch to alternative VPNs or DNS services to bypass restrictions.

Efforts are underway to understand how these companies plan to implement compliance and what the restrictions mean for their French users.

A NordVPN spokesperson revealed to TechRadar that the company has already filed an appeal, arguing that blocking content does not address the root of piracy nor diminish the demand for illegal streams.

NordVPN emphasized that effective piracy mitigation should target content sources, such as hosting providers, and disrupt funding channels, alongside promoting legitimate content access.

The firm also criticized the order for disproportionately impacting paid VPN services, while free VPN options remain largely unregulated. They pointed out that free VPNs are harder to control, and since users seeking free access are unlikely to invest in paid VPNs, these free services continue to serve as loopholes for pirates.

Surfshark has also indicated plans to appeal the previous ruling from May, and it is expected they might pursue similar legal challenges against this latest enforcement.

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