For several years now, French authorities have been asking Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to certain pirate sites (IPTV or illegal streaming). Faced with this now well-established strategy, smart Internet users have also adopted a new technique: they use DNS or VPNs to bypass these bans.
Canal+ strikes hard against piracy
Canal+ has in turn understood this maneuver very well and decided to retaliate. Last month, we learned that the French company had sued Cisco, Cloudfare, and Google, three of the main alternative DNS, in order to have several IPTV site addresses that broadcast Formula 1 races illegally removed.
More recently, the Paris High Court asked Google, Cloudflare and Cisco to take action to prevent third-party services from circumventing the blocks. Things are speeding up on this point. As the specialist site has spotted TorrentFreakCisco explained that its OpenDNS service is currently no longer available in France:
As of June 28, 2024: Due to a court decision in France under Article L.333-10 of the French Sports Code and a court decision in Portugal under Article 210-G(3) of the Portuguese Copyright Code, the OpenDNS service is currently unavailable to users in France and certain French territories, as well as Portugal. We apologize for the inconvenience.
OpenDNS did not say more about the reasons for this unavailability and whether it is likely to last. For its part, Google has also confirmed that it will comply with this legal decision. In any case, this is a great victory for Canal+ that could considerably slow down piracy in France.
DNS in the crosshairs in France
We will still be cautious, because pirates have often proven themselves to be clever when it comes to circumvention, and this game of cat and mouse is clearly not about to end.
As a reminder, Arcom recently called for “the involvement of VPN and alternative DNS providers in law enforcement, alongside ISPs”. Which is in line with Canal+’s strategy.
What you must remember :
- Canal + has obtained a legal victory
- This puts pressure on DNS service providers often used to bypass the blocking of pirate sites
- The war against illegal IPTV is far from won
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By: Opera
