The main French transmission supplier Canal+ is looking to block VPN access in an important escalation of antipiratry measures in the country.
After a successful legal action against DNS services last year, Canal+ has now been associated with the Professional Football League Agency of France, Football Ligue Professel (LFP) Issue judicial orders for some of the best VPN suppliers in the market.
It is not necessary to say that VPN companies are furious, warning that they undermine the freedom and privacy of people is not the solution to online piracy.
One of the specific companies, Proton VPN told Techradar: “DNS blocking is a common strategy that authoritarian governments use to censor the website and control. When also attacking VPN, one of the last lumps against censorship in Line: Canal+ and LFP Media are crossing a red line “.
VPN block: ineffective and dangerous
A virtual private network (VPN) is the safety software that figure the Internet connection of users to increase online privacy while falsifying its real IP address.
While the last ability is crucial to avoid strict Internet restrictions imposed by the Government, it can also be used as a solution for current tactics against piracy that involve blocking access to piracy sites based on the navigation location of navigation Users. This is exactly what French rights want to stop.
As reported for the first time for the French publication L’Entron, VPN de Proton is the objective of the legal action of Canal+together with Nordvpn and Cyberghost. The country’s transmission giant also listed Expressvpn and Surfshark as respondents.
However, according to Proton VPN, “the demand is illogical and addresses the wrong problem,” said a company spokesman to Techradar. French sholders request, explains the supplier, Proton VPN and other VPN services to block more than 200 websites. VPN suppliers should also update this list of blocks continuously.
“This mandate is undoubtedly an open door to other abuses in the future and undermine the very nature of the VPN, which are intended to provide private and safe navigation,” said Proton VPN spokesman, pointing out how the case It is not precedents in Western societies.
The VPN Trust (VTI) initiative, whose members include Expressvpn, Nordvpn, Surfshark and other suppliers, also warns that the VPN block would have “radical consequences” that could put at risk the safety and privacy of French citizens.
“By demanding this group of security and privacy principles that adhere to VPN suppliers to restrict access, this measure is not only unjustified but also exposes French residents to new significant risks of cyber security, undermining their safety in Line, “the coalition wrote in a public statement.
With the safest VPN applications blocked, experts explain, French VPN users will be pushed into alternative and less safe services, which makes the VPN block an ineffective antipyretary measure.
However, not just that. The French case could establish a precedent worldwide in the fight against the use of VPN, whose main criminals today are authoritarian countries such as China, Russia, Myanmar and Iran, raid world.
“This case represents much more than a localized legal dispute,” wrote the VPN coalition. “Imposing a blockade in VPN in France runs the risk of significant overreach, where legitimate and childhood content can be cut summarily. This raises alarms on unfairly limiting people’s rights to freedom of information and expression.”
What follows?
With the first legal hearing scheduled for March 11, 2025, as reported by Torrentfreak, it is early to predict what could happen next.
A Channel+ Victoria would surely send some shock waves throughout the Sholders industry, however, with music, film and other copyright realities, inside and outside France, which can follow its example.
However, VPN suppliers are not willing to give up the user freedoms of their users so easily.
When commenting on this, Proton VPN told Techradar: “These companies are carrying out a raid on the online freedom of users for their own commercial interests. Proton is determined to fight against this lawsuit to the Court of Justice from Europe “.
