Spain is tightening its fight against illegal football streaming by pushing the enforcement burden onto VPN providers, starting with NordVPN.
Quick Summary – TLDR:
- A Spanish commercial court has backed LaLiga and Telefónica linked firms in a case that targets VPN services used to access illegal match streams.
- The ruling allows dynamic IP blocking, meaning the blocked IP list can be updated during matches as new streams are found.
- NordVPN and Proton VPN say they have not been formally notified, raising concerns about due process and practical impact.
- Privacy advocates warn of collateral damage because VPN servers often use shared IP addresses used by many legitimate customers.
What Happened?
Commercial Court No. 1 of Córdoba ruled in favor of LaLiga and Telefónica Audiovisual Digital (TAD), granting precautionary measures that require certain VPN services to block access from Spain to IP addresses linked to illegal LaLiga match streams. The order names NordVPN and Proton VPN and enables IP lists to be updated dynamically as new infringements are detected.
Court backs dynamic blocking aimed at VPN infrastructure
According to statements from LaLiga and Telefónica related companies, the Córdoba court accepted the argument that VPN providers can be treated as “technological intermediaries” under the EU Digital Services Act framework. That classification is important because it frames VPNs as part of the delivery chain that can be compelled to help prevent copyright infringements using their infrastructure.
The measures are described as precautionary, but the impact could be immediate. VPNs are expected to make certain IP addresses inaccessible from Spain once those IPs are confirmed to be tied to illegal transmissions of LaLiga matches. The order is also described as dynamic, allowing LaLiga to supply updated IP lists as new pirate streams pop up during games.
VPN firms push back and say they were not notified
Both VPN companies named in the reporting have pushed back on the process.
Proton VPN said on X that the company “has not been formally notified.” It also wrote:
We have become aware of recent reports concerning legal proceedings in Spain that may affect VPN services, including Proton VPN.
At this stage, we were not aware of any proceedings that may have been underway prior to these reports coming to light and have not been formally…
— Proton VPN (@ProtonVPN) February 17, 2026
NordVPN also indicated it had not been involved in legal proceedings in Spain, calling the approach “unacceptable.”
Risk of collateral damage for regular users
A major worry is how shared VPN IP addresses work in practice. A single VPN server IP can be used by thousands of customers at the same time, including remote workers, travelers, journalists, and privacy conscious users. If one IP is flagged because a bad actor used it for piracy, blocking it could disrupt legitimate users as well, potentially causing connection issues during match windows.
There is also a practical question: how VPNs implement these blocks while keeping their core promise of privacy. The reporting notes that how and whether this can be done cleanly is still unclear, and Proton VPN has said it has not seen any disruption to its services in Spain so far.
Evidence preservation requirements add another layer
The Córdoba measures also require LaLiga and TAD to preserve sufficient digital evidence of the unlawful transmissions they report to VPN providers. That requirement mirrors an evidential approach used in earlier rulings and could become a key point if disputes arise about whether an IP address was correctly linked to piracy.
VPNs have been targeted before in sports piracy cases
This is not the first time courts have ordered action from VPN providers in sports piracy disputes. In May 2025, a court in France ordered several leading VPNs to block access to more than 200 illegal sports streaming sites in a case brought by Canal+ and the Ligue de Football Professionnel. In June 2025, the Motion Picture Association also urged VPNs to block piracy sites. A VPN industry group, the VPN Trust Initiative, criticized this direction, saying “VPNs are not facilitators of piracy” and calling it “a misguided and disproportionate approach.”
SQ Magazine Takeaway
I get why LaLiga wants faster enforcement, because illegal streaming is a real business problem. But pushing real time blocking onto VPN services feels like using a sledgehammer in a crowded room. If Spain starts blocking shared VPN IPs during matches, regular people doing normal work could get caught in the middle, and that is the part that worries me most. If this spreads, we are looking at a future where privacy tools get treated like suspects by default.
