cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/7315022
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a Spanish court has labeled VPN services as “technological intermediaries,” ordering them to actively block IP addresses that host illegal LaLiga matches. The “dynamic” injunction compels NordVPN and ProtonVPN to intervene, similar to local ISPs. But with both companies operating outside EU jurisdiction with privacy-centric business models, it remains unclear if and how the order will actually be enforced.
To a certain degree, this has already been happening in Spain for over a year now (believe it started in 2024, possibly even 2023). Vast swathes of the internet gets blocked during games because they share the same Cloudflare IPs. It’s affected so many random businesses that have absolutely nothing to do with football.
https://reclaimthenet.org/laliga-block-causes-spain-internet-outage-and-vpn-surge