3 ms·

Wait that’s a thing? It sounds outright crazy to block people from going about their business and using the Internet to protect one particular industry. Especia

Wait that’s a thing? It sounds outright crazy to block people from going about their business and using the Internet to protect one particular industry. Especially sports, which is low priority to me and I am sure to many people.

iamnothere 8mo ago
Yes, it has caused major issues all across Spain, including interference with emergency services, but apparently the owner of the league has deep political connections or something. It’s also likely that the political class sees this as laying the groundwork for future censorship efforts, given their track record.
mschuster91 8mo ago
Yes, for years now [1]. Sports is worth billions of dollars - La Liga makes 6.1 billion € from domestic rights alone [2]. UK's Premier League made 7.1 billion € during the Covid years [3]. [1] https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/la-liga-wins-court-order-requiring-nordvpn-and-proton-vpn-to-block-illegal-football-streams-in-spain-but-vpn-firms-say-they-have-not-been-notified https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/la-liga-w... [2] https://www.laliga.com/en-GB/news/laliga-secures-over-euro6135-billion-in-domestic-audiovisual-revenue-for-2027-28-2031-32-up-9percent-over-previous-cycle https://www.laliga.com/en-GB/news/laliga-secures-over-euro61... [3] https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/mar/06/premier-league-revenues-almost-double-those-in-la-liga-and-bundesliga https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/mar/06/premier-lea...
potatototoo99 8mo ago
Cloudflare could refuse to host illegal material or make it available in Spain. If they cannot or will not, this was the best solution the courts arrived at. Other Cloudflare clients could also decide to host elsewhere for Spanish traffic if they cared.
- Symbiote 8mo ago
  I assume court orders against Cloudflare have been tried. How come they are not effective? Edit: according to this article, Cloudflare have not been ordered to block the sites. Very odd. https://cybernews.com/news/cloudflare-spain-laliga-piracy-blocking/ https://cybernews.com/news/cloudflare-spain-laliga-piracy-bl...

iamnothere 8mo ago

Yes, it has caused major issues all across Spain, including interference with emergency services, but apparently the owner of the league has deep political connections or something. It’s also likely that the political class sees this as laying the groundwork for future censorship efforts, given their track record.

mschuster91 8mo ago

Yes, for years now [1]. Sports is worth billions of dollars - La Liga makes 6.1 billion € from domestic rights alone [2]. UK's Premier League made 7.1 billion € during the Covid years [3]. [1] https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/la-liga-wins-court-order-requiring-nordvpn-and-proton-vpn-to-block-illegal-football-streams-in-spain-but-vpn-firms-say-they-have-not-been-notified https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/la-liga-w... [2] https://www.laliga.com/en-GB/news/laliga-secures-over-euro6135-billion-in-domestic-audiovisual-revenue-for-2027-28-2031-32-up-9percent-over-previous-cycle https://www.laliga.com/en-GB/news/laliga-secures-over-euro61... [3] https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/mar/06/premier-league-revenues-almost-double-those-in-la-liga-and-bundesliga https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/mar/06/premier-lea...

potatototoo99 8mo ago

Cloudflare could refuse to host illegal material or make it available in Spain. If they cannot or will not, this was the best solution the courts arrived at. Other Cloudflare clients could also decide to host elsewhere for Spanish traffic if they cared.

Symbiote 8mo ago
I assume court orders against Cloudflare have been tried. How come they are not effective? Edit: according to this article, Cloudflare have not been ordered to block the sites. Very odd. https://cybernews.com/news/cloudflare-spain-laliga-piracy-blocking/ https://cybernews.com/news/cloudflare-spain-laliga-piracy-bl...