📰 New article from TorrentFreak
DNS Resolver Quad9 Rejects French Piracy Blocks, Weighs Exit as beIN Seeks Up to €580K a Day
### High Stakes and High Fines: The DNS War in France
It’s the classic internet showdown: a massive broadcaster vs. a privacy-focused non-profit, and the price tag is absolutely eye-watering.
French broadcaster beIN Sports is currently in a legal tug-of-war with Quad9, a Swiss DNS resolver. The issue? French courts have ordered Quad9 to block access to pirate sports streaming sites. Quad9, however, has essentially said, “No thanks.”
The reason isn’t just stubbornness; it’s a technical and philosophical nightmare. Quad9 argues that they can’t accurately distinguish a French user from a user elsewhere without compromising privacy or relying on shaky data. To them, blocking specific domains for one country only is technically messy and sets a dangerous precedent for the open internet.
But “standing on principle” is about to get very expensive. beIN is seeking penalties of €10,000 per domain, per day. With 58 domains on the list, Quad9 is looking at a potential bill of €580,000 every single day.
What happens next?
Quad9 is caught in a three-way bind:
- Comply locally: Risk inaccurate blocking and further legal headaches.
- Comply globally: Effectively let French law dictate internet access for the whole world.
- Exit the market: Stop serving French users entirely to avoid the fines.
A court decision is expected in a few weeks. Grab your popcorn—this is going to be a costly one.