France Orders Top VPNs to Block Sites: A ‘Dangerous Precedent’ for Online Freedom?
On May 15, 2025, the Paris Judicial Court mandated five major VPN providers—NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Surfshark, Proton VPN, and CyberGhost—to block access to 203 domains associated with illegal sports streaming. This legal action, initiated by Canal+ and the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), aims to curb unauthorized streaming of events like the UEFA Champions League and Ligue 1 matches.
The ruling requires these VPN services to implement measures preventing users in France from accessing the specified domains and any future similar sites. However, this poses significant challenges for VPN providers that adhere to strict no-log policies, as they do not track user activity or connection data. Implementing such blocks without compromising user privacy is technically complex and may undermine the core principles of VPN services.
Industry experts express concerns that this precedent could lead to broader censorship and erosion of online privacy. There is apprehension that complying with such orders may push users toward less secure VPN alternatives, increasing cybersecurity risks. Additionally, there’s a risk of overblocking, where legitimate sites could be inadvertently restricted, affecting users’ access to lawful content.
