The leading providers of virtual private networks (VPNs) have reacted indignantly to a legal challenge led by Canal+ to force them to block illegal streaming sites – and may have to withdraw from the country.
Canal+, which holds the broadcast rights to many major sports competitions in France, launched a bid at the Paris Judicial Court on December 10 in collaboration with the French football league to oblige VPNs to cut access to a myriad of foreign websites that retransmit these competitions abroad.
The French television giant claims that allowing continued access to these foreign websites amounts to “serious and repeated infringements of the audiovisual exploitation rights” under Article L333-10 of the French sports code.
Several major providers of VPNs, including NordVPN, Proton VPN, CyberGhost, ExpressVPN and Surfshark, are expressly mentioned in the court filings.
The new effort to curb the piracy of sporting events follows a similar – and successful – bid in 2024 to block access to foreign streaming sites via court action against DNS providers, including Google, Cisco, and Cloudfare.
DNS blocking prevents access to listed IP addresses from a given location, but can be circumvented by a VPN.
What is a VPN?
A VPN (virtual private network) disguises the physical location from which you are accessing the internet by encrypting your data and sending it through a server in another location.
This can let you make it appear to be accessing the internet from wherever you choose.
Many people use VPNs when travelling to access websites or online streaming services that they have paid for in one country, but are restricted (or offer different programing) in another.
Conversely, residents of one country may use a VPN to watch programmes (sports in particular) that require a subscription in their own country but are broadcast for free in others.
VPNs are not illegal in France. The service is paid-for and typically slows your internet speed by around 30%.
The VPN providers released a statement via their international consortium, The VPN Trust Initiative (VTI), on February 6, recommending Canal+ to instead concentrate on fighting pirate sites themselves.
A VPN can mask your location by routing through a server in another countryDenPhotos / Shutterstock
"VPNs are not facilitators of piracy,” said the VTI statement. “They neither host, store, nor promote copyrighted material.
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“Targeting VPN services for activities they do not enable or promote is a misguided and disproportionate approach.
"While VTI members unequivocally oppose the misuse of VPNs for illegal activities, this move not only misplaces blame but also threatens to undermine cybersecurity, privacy, and digital freedom for millions of French residents.
“French authorities ought to reconsider their approach and fight piracy at source rather than targeting technologies that protect users’ confidentiality and security.”
Comply or leave
Christian Downson, president of the US-based internet trade body the Internet Infrastructure Coalition, said that should Canal+’s bid succeed, major VPNs could be forced to leave France.
“We’ve seen this before in markets like India and Pakistan, where regulatory requirements forced some VPN services to withdraw rather than compromise on encryption standards or log-keeping policies.
“France’s potential move to force VPN providers to block content could put companies in a similar position – where they either comply with measures that contradict their purpose or leave the market altogether.”
Around 29% of French internet users had made use of VPN in 2023, according to data from French digital and audiovisual watchdog Arcom.
While many certainly use a VPN for legitimate privacy or security concerns, around half of VPN users were found to have modified their DNS protocols, which indicate that they may use it to access websites otherwise blocked in France.
