LaLiga has obtained that a court in Córdoba order NordVPN and ProtonVPN to block certain IPs associated with the broadcast of football matches without authorization. The situation, which has intensified over the last few years, and which has led to malfunction of many websites every time there is a match, it has even led to the services of VPN are involved in this crossroads.
The problem is that no one knows entirely if that is technically possible, not even the judge who signed the resolution.
What exactly happened. The Commercial Court No. 1 of Córdoba recently issued several orders granting LaLiga and Telefónica precautionary measures “unheard of”, that is, without the affected companies being able to defend themselves. The recipients are two of the most popular VPNs on the market: NordVPN and ProtonVPN. The order requires them to immediately implement mechanisms so that certain IP addresses, in which, according to LaLiga, “illegal broadcasting of protected audiovisual content” were found to be inaccessible from Spain.
Because it is important. Until now, LaLiga’s battles against those websites or organizations that broadcast football without authorization were fought involving teleoperators and broadcast providers. services like Cloudflarewith the goal of blocking those IP addresses in which it was confirmed that LaLiga content had been broadcast without authorization. Bringing VPN providers into that equation means that the pursuit of those IP addresses jumped to a whole new level.
The reasoning The judge’s opinion is that these companies are “technological intermediaries within the scope of European Digital Services regulations” and, therefore, have the obligation to prevent infringements from being committed through their infrastructures. LaLiga further argues that these VPNs not only facilitate access to blocked content, but even “actively advertise that ability.”
The technical trap. Blocking a specific IP is relatively simple for a traditional operator. But asking a VPN to block only “illegal” traffic associated with an IP, without touching the rest of the traffic passing through its servers, is a completely different problem.
The magistrate responsible for the resolution, Antonio Fuentes Bujalance, recognized in a publication on LinkedIn that the order only requires action “in the sole and exclusive case that it is technically possible to make this discrimination between legal and illegal traffic by the VPN provider without affecting in any way everything that does not have to do with illegal soccer streaming traffic.” “Whether or not it is technically possible will be seen, but if it is not, the order is only to do it if possible,” he added in the publication.
What it means in practice. In other words, what the judge meant is that, if NordVPN or ProtonVPN determine that they cannot make this traffic discrimination without compromising the service of their users, the resolution ceases to have effect. This opens up room for maneuver for both companies, although it also raises the question of who evaluates and certifies whether this technical separation is possible or not.
How VPNs have reacted. ProtonVPN counted to Xataka Móvil that he was not aware of any ongoing proceedings before the news broke, and that any order issued without due notification to the affected parties would be, in his opinion, “invalid from a procedural point of view.”
NordVPN, for its part, Indian that he had not received the judicial documents either, so he could not comment in detail. Although the company maintained that “domain blocks are ineffective in combating piracy” since these blocks can be “easily bypassed using subdomains.” Furthermore, NordVPN said that these types of measures “mainly affect reputable paid VPNs, leaving free VPN services practically intact,” which are used precisely by those who do not want to pay for content.
And now what. Everything indicates that the issue is still quite far from being resolved. What has become clear is that LaLiga has opened a new front in its particular fight against those who broadcast matches without consent, and is going to use every possible legal instrument to make their requests possible.
Cover image | Peter Lagson and own assembly
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