French Piracy Blocking Order Goes Global, DNS Service Quad9 Vows to Fight

In an ongoing escalation of its fight against online sports piracy, media giant Canal+ secured court orders compelling DNS providers Quad9 and Vercara to block access to pirate streaming sites in France. Quad9 says that it's determined to appeal what it sees as an absurd application of copyright law. For now, however, it will block the targeted domain names globally.

In May, the Paris Judicial Court ordered Google, Cloudflare, and Cisco to block access to several pirate websites by poisoning their DNS.

The order compelled the tech giants to prevent users from accessing unauthorized streams of Champions League and Premier League matches.

Applicant Canal+ argued that the alternative DNS resolvers allowed people to bypass the “regular” blocking measures implemented by internet providers. In their view, DNS blocking is proportionate and necessary to prevent piracy.

Canal+ didn’t stop at this initial order. As reported last month, several follow-up orders were issued to target yet more domains, gradually expanding the scope. While that was ongoing, new proceedings against other DNS resolvers were launched as well.

Canal+ Targets Quad9 & Vercara

In a series of new court orders issued last week (full list below), Canal+ adds Quad9 and Vercara to the list of targeted DNS resolvers.

The first two orders aim to protect soccer matches from the UEFA Champions League and the English Premier League. The third is centered around the French professional rugby union league; Top 14. This also lists Quad9 and Vercara as the main defendants, but this time alongside Google.

The Top 14 order
 

The recent orders were issued by the Paris Judicial Court under Article L.333-10 of the French Sports Code and mark a broadening of Canal+’s legal strategy. Despite fierce criticism from major tech companies, the French media company isn’t holding back.

Quad9 Responds to DNS Censorship

These types of blocking requests are not new to Quad9. The Swiss non-profit DNS service was previously ordered to block piracy related domains in Germany, following an order obtained by Sony Music. Quad9 successfully appealed this blocking effort at a higher court last year.

Commenting on the French action, Quad9 describes the latest blocking order as yet more “DNS censorship”. The company believes that the ruling is based on an “absurd” application of copyright law, which has far-reaching consequences.

Tampering with DNS makes the internet less secure, the company argues. DNS providers should be seen as neutral location services, and Quad9 likens itself to a map publisher, which has no control over any of the locations it shows.

“Quad9 has no relationship with the sites listed. They are not customers, do not pay Quad9, and do not have any contractual or formal relationship with Quad9. Quad9 does not have any interaction with them other than resolving their domain names as we do with every other name on the Internet,” the company notes.

Blocks Affect Consumers Worldwide

In response to the legal pressure, Cisco decided to discontinue its OpenDNS service in France altogether. Quad9 doesn’t want to go that far, but its implementation has broad consequences, as the targeted domain names will be blocked for all customers globally.

Quad9 says its system is designed to treat every user in every country the same way. For privacy reasons, Quad9 also has no precise information about the location of its users. This is in line with European and Swiss privacy laws. Therefore, to remain in compliance, the blocking measures must be global.

“Therefore, to remain in compliance, we have to block these sites for all users, in all areas. This amounts to French law being applied globally, but if Quad9 is not in compliance it is possible for Canal+ and the French courts to seek financial penalties against Quad9.

“We will appeal this ruling, but until the courts find in favor of our arguments we must maintain the list of blocked sites,” the company adds.

Quad9 Seeks Help for Appeal

This legal battle certainly isn’t over yet. Quad9 is determined to fight against “DNS censorship” and, since it’s a non-profit organization, it requests help from the public to fund this quest.

“Quad9 needs your help if you believe that an open Internet is a worthy goal. We are a non-profit and subsist on donations and sponsorships,” the company explains.

On appeal, DNS providers will likely argue that Article L.333-10 of the French Sports Code does not apply to DNS resolvers, as they do not have a “transmission function.” Therefore, they should not be considered “intermediaries” under EU law

The Paris Court previously disagreed with this interpretation of the law, but higher courts may see things differently.

The outcome of this legal challenge could have significant implications for the future of piracy-related DNS blocking. As Canal+ continues its aggressive pursuit of DNS blocking measures, the global debate surrounding these issues is likely to intensify.

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Copies of the three orders, released last week, are available below. We’ve included a list of all domain names included in each of these orders.

Premier League Order targeting Quad9 and Vercara (pdf)

aliezstream.pro, antenasport.shop, antenasports.ru, antenasports.shop, antenatv.online, antenatv.store, antennasport.ru, asportv.shop, livetv802.me, toparena.store, emb.ap1357.me, embx224539.ap1357.me, Iqwebplay.xyz, livetv807.me, cdn.livetv807.me, boxtv60.com, infinityott.com, vbn123.com.

Champions League Order targeting Quad9 and Vercara (pdf)

livetv806.me, rojadirectahdenvivo.com, streamsthunder.tv, rojadirectenvivo.me, methstreams.me, antenasports.ru, asportv.shop, toparena.store, Ishunter.net, tv1337.buzz, livetv.sx, sporttuna.pro, livetv807.me, embx224539.ap1366.me, cdn.livetv807.me, locatedinfain.com, tvhd.tutvlive.info, stream 24.net, speci4leagle.com, vi.methstreams.me, klubsports.fun, weblivehdplay.ru, buddycenters.shop, olalivehdplay.ru, lqwebplay.xyz., sporttvls.com, euro2024direct.ru, librarywhispering.com, cdn.livetv808.me, watch.sporttuna.pro, sporttuna.sx, sporttuna.online, lewblivehdplay.ru.

Top 14 Rugby order targeting Google, Quad9 and Vercara (pdf)

thesports1.org, livetv813.me, sportp2p.com, directatvhd.me, lshunter.net, antenasport.shop, antenasports.ru, antenasports.shop, ilovetoplay.xyz, hoca2.com, livetv814.me, cdn.livetv814.me, streamingon.org, emb.ap1357.me, livetv815.me, cdn.livetv815.me, noblockaabbddxcktb.xyz, embx222304.ap!357.me, tutvlive.info, sporttvls.com, quest4play.xyz, antenasport.online, wfzrbhp.luxevpn.xyz, smart.lionsmart.cc.

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