📰 New article from TorrentFreak
LaLiga Wants Major VPNs on EU Piracy Watch List Over Affiliate Marketing
https://torrentfreak.com/laliga-wants-major-vpns-on-eu-piracy-watch-list-over-affiliate-marketing/
### Football, Fans, and the Fight Against VPNs
It looks like the battle for broadcasting rights is moving from the pitch to the server room. LaLiga, Spain’s premier football league, is making a bold move to get major VPN players—including NordVPN, ExpressVPN, ProtonVPN, and Surfshark—placed on the EU’s “Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List.”
Now, before you panic, the league isn’t actually coming for the technology itself. They aren’t claiming that using a VPN is inherently illegal. Instead, they’re targeting the “affiliate marketing” ecosystem.
Here is the crux of the issue:
- The “How-To” Guides: Influencers and websites write detailed guides on how to use VPNs to bypass geoblocks and watch matches for free.
- The Payoff: These guides link to VPN providers via affiliate programs, meaning the publishers earn a commission every time a fan signs up to circumvent broadcasting rules.
- The Piracy Link: LaLiga also claims some guides specifically teach users how to use VPNs to bypass court-ordered blocks on pirate streaming sites.
Essentially, LaLiga argues that while the VPNs are “neutral” tools, the way they are being sold to fans makes them active participants in the piracy chain. Whether the European Commission agrees is a whole different ballgame.