LaLiga Wants Four Major VPNs on EU Piracy Watch List

Last Updated on October 2, 2026 by Scottie Brockenshire

LaLiga has asked the European Commission to add four major VPN providers to its Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List. The Spanish football league says third-party affiliate guides that show fans how to bypass geo-blocks and court-ordered site blocks turn those providers into more than neutral intermediaries. The request is part of the public consultation for the 2027 edition of the list.

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What Happened

In a 14-page submission dated September 10, LaLiga named NordVPN, Proton VPN, ExpressVPN and Surfshark VPN and asked for all four to be listed. The league doesn't claim the companies write the guides. Its argument is that the providers profit from affiliate content that promotes circumvention, and that this commercial relationship is what takes them beyond a neutral technical role.

“The conduct that takes these services beyond neutral technical provision is the deliberate marketing of circumvention, conducted at arm's length through affiliate programmes,” the submission reads. LaLiga adds that the request “does not assert any finding of legal liability” and that it isn't aimed at VPN technology itself.

The consultation for the 2027 list ran from June 11 to September 21, and the Commission plans to publish the new edition in the second quarter of 2027. The May 22, 2025 edition named hosting companies, IPFS and a domain privacy service, but no VPN providers.

LaLiga describes two kinds of affiliate guide. The first tells fans to connect to a server abroad to watch free or cheap broadcasts in another country, which the league says weakens the territorial exclusivity it sells to licensees. The second names pirate streaming services and explains that a VPN can evade court-ordered blocking, which LaLiga treats as the more serious problem. The submission doesn't name or link to a single guide, publisher or influencer.

Key Facts

Request: 14-page LaLiga submission dated September 10, 2026, filed for the European Commission's 2027 Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List.
Named providers: NordVPN, Proton VPN, ExpressVPN and Surfshark VPN.
Core allegation: affiliate publishers and influencers earn commissions from guides on bypassing geo-blocks and court-ordered blocks. LaLiga asserts no finding of legal liability.
Consultation window: June 11 to September 21, 2026. The 2027 list is expected in the second quarter of 2027.
Previous edition: published May 22, 2025, with no VPN services listed.
Court backdrop: in February 2026, Commercial Court No. 1 of Cordoba issued an ex parte precautionary order against NordVPN and Proton VPN after a request by LaLiga and Telefonica Audiovisual Digital, requiring IP addresses to be blocked in Spain.
Aftermath: in May 2026 the same court declined LaLiga's request for fines against NordVPN, accepting evidence that the flagged IP addresses changed frequently. The main case continues.
Also named: Downloader, an AFTVnews app for Fire TV and Android TV. LaLiga counted 341 short codes, 262 of which it says lead to apps that redistribute copyrighted content. AFTVnews disputes that description and plans to reply to the Commission.
US parallel: the American Copyright Protection Act covers VPNs with 100,000 or more monthly US users, while the DEFEND IP Act excludes services that only provide VPNs.

What It Means

The watch list is not a ban. The Commission says it doesn't make findings of legal violations, and a listing wouldn't change how a VPN works or stop anyone from using one. The signal is about where rightsholders aim next. LaLiga isn't chasing pirate streams alone. It wants regulators to treat the marketing around circumvention tools as part of the problem, which puts pressure on affiliate guides and review pages rather than on the encryption itself. That shift matters for anyone who reads or publishes streaming-unblocking guides. If you use a VPN to reach a service in another region, check your local laws and the terms of service of the platform you use.

Related Guide

If you want the basics of how a VPN hides your connection in the first place, our guide to how a VPN works walks through the tunnel, the server handshake and what a provider can see.

None of this is legal advice. Rules on VPNs, geo-blocking and streaming differ by country, so check your local laws and the terms of service of any platform you use. A VPN is a privacy and security tool, and how you use it is your responsibility.

Source: TorrentFreak, with additional detail via BetaNews.