LaLiga/Cloudflare Crisis: ISPs Urged to Action Amid Mass Overblocking
3 days ago
- #piracy
- #LaLiga
- #site-blocking
- Rightsholders advocate for site-blocking as a proportionate response to piracy, requiring new legislation to maintain pressure on pirates.
- Spain's decade-long site-blocking efforts have been successful with minimal controversy, though recent measures have led to significant collateral damage.
- LaLiga and Telefonica secured court orders for dynamic blocking to combat IPTV piracy, but technical circumventions have undermined effectiveness.
- A December 2023 court order allowed LaLiga to block Cloudflare, affecting thousands of innocent customers due to IP-based blocking.
- LaLiga is blocking approximately 3,000 Cloudflare IP addresses weekly, disproportionately impacting legitimate services compared to Italy's Piracy Shield.
- DigitalES, a Spanish digital association, calls for ISP cooperation to enforce court-ordered blocking, though overblocking concerns are unaddressed.
- Telefonica, Vodafone, MásOrange, and DIGI, all DigitalES members, are directly involved in the blocking actions, protecting their LaLiga broadcasting investments.
- The blocking process is non-adversarial, with ISPs compelled to implement measures agreed upon in advance, aiming to disrupt pirates into legal compliance.
- Vodafone intervened in RootedCON's case, supporting the court's decision, despite ISPs blocking legitimate resources and their own customers.