Canal+ wants to block VPN usage – and VPN providers are fuming

Major French streaming provider Canal+ is looking to block VPN access in a major escalation of anti-piracy measures in the country.

After a successful legal action against DNS services last year, Canal+ has now teamed up with France's professional football league agency, Ligue de Football Professionel (LFP), to issue court orders for some of the best VPN providers on the market.

Needless to say, VPN companies are furious, warning that undermining people's internet freedom and privacy isn't the solution to online piracy.

One of the targeted companies, Proton VPN told TechRadar: "DNS blocking is a common strategy that authoritarian governments use to censor the web and control society. By also attacking VPNs – one of the last bulwarks against online censorship – Canal+ and LFP Media are crossing a red line."

VPN blocking: ineffective and dangerous

A virtual private network (VPN) is security software that encrypts users' internet connection to boost online privacy while spoofing their real IP address.

While the latter skill is crucial to bypass strict government-imposed internet restrictions, it can also be used as a workaround to current anti-piracy tactics that involve blocking access to piracy sites based on users' browsing location. This is exactly what the French rightsholders want to halt.

As first reported by the French publication L’Informé, Proton VPN is the target of Canal+'s legal action alongside NordVPN and CyberGhost. The country's streaming giant also listed ExpressVPN and Surfshark as respondents.

Yet, according to Proton VPN, "the lawsuit is illogical and tackles the wrong problem," a company spokesperson told TechRadar. French rightsholders are asking, the provider explains, Proton VPN and other VPN services to block over 200 websites. The VPN providers would also be required to update this block list on a rolling basis.

"This injunction is without a doubt an open door to other abuses in the future and would undermine the very nature of VPNs, which are meant to provide private and secure browsing," said Proton VPN's spokesperson, pointing out how the case is unprecedented in Western societies.

The VPN Trust Initiative (VTI), whose members include ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, and other providers, also warns that blocking VPNs would have "sweeping consequences" that could put the security and privacy of French citizens at risk.

"By requiring this group of security and privacy principle-adhering VPN providers to restrict access, this measure is not only unjustified but also exposes French residents to significant new cybersecurity risks, undermining their safety online," wrote the coalition in a public statement.

With the most secure VPN apps blocked, experts explain, French VPN users will be pushed towards alternative and less secure services, de-facto making VPN-blocking an ineffective anti-piracy measure.

Not only that, though. The French case could set up a precedent worldwide in the fight against VPN usage – whose today's main offenders are authoritarian countries like China, Russia, Myanmar, and Iran – paving the way for greater censorship, more broadly across the world.

"This case represents far more than a localized legal dispute," wrote the VPN coalition. "Imposing blocking on VPNs in France risks significant overreach, where legitimate and non-infringing content can be summarily cut off. This raises alarms about unjustly limiting individuals’ rights to freedom of information and expression."

What's next?

With the first legal audience set for March 11, 2025 – as reported by TorrentFreak – it's early to predict what could happen next.

A Canal+ victory would surely send some shockwaves throughout the rightsholder industry, though, with the music, movie, and other copyright realities, in and out of France, potentially following suit.

VPN providers aren't willing to give up on their users' internet freedoms so easily, however.

Commenting on this, Proton VPN told TechRadar: "These companies are carrying out a plain sight raid on users online freedom for their own commercial interests. Proton is determined to fight this lawsuit up to the European Court of Justice."