VPNs ordered to block illegal sports streaming sites in France
On May 15, 2025, the Paris Judicial Court issued a landmark ruling requiring five major VPN providers—NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Proton VPN, CyberGhost, and Surfshark—to block access to 203 domains associated with illegal sports streaming. This decision, prompted by a joint case from broadcaster Canal+ and the French football league Ligue 1, marks the first time VPNs have been directly targeted by such court orders in France. The ruling aims to curb unauthorized access to premium sports content, including Premier League matches, by extending responsibility for piracy to virtual private networks. While Canal+ and the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) hailed the decision as a significant step against piracy, the Internet infrastructure body i2Coalition criticized it as “misguided and ineffective.”
