- Exercise Picture Association (MPA) presses for for VPN providers, proxies and content delivery systems to collaborate with anti-piracy measures
- MPA also calls on the EU to adopt an automated system that can block pirated content in real time without the need for legal approval
- Italy and France have already begun to force some VPN and DNS services to block access to illegal streaming venues
After sports streaming groups pushing the film industry now For VPN providers, proxies and content delivery systems to help combat online piracy in Europe.
Motion Picture Association (MPA), a group representing Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros. And other major streaming giants call on European countries to adopt an automated system that can block pirated content in real time without requiring legal approval. Of crucial importance, MPA requires VPN and other dissemination services to cooperate by actively blocking illegal streaming content.
This comes just days after Canal+ scored a legal victory in France, as some of the best VPN service providers were ordered to block access to 203 domains linked to illegal sports streaming venues.
MPA requires
In response to a study from 2023 from the EU Commission, MPA presented some detailed comments on May 25, 2025 – which first reported by Torrent Freak.
Specifically, the group pointed out that although the EU framework is currently providing rights holders to some powerful tools, there are existing discrepancies among the EU countries in the implementation of laws to successfully tackle copyright violations.
“Focus should be placed on ensuring their effective implementation across all EU Member States,” MPA wrote in a letter.
One way to do so, according to the group, allows rights owners to act quickly when copyright infringement occurs, especially when it comes to live content.
“Therefore, MPA supports automated effective place blocking mechanisms that can be updated in real time with appropriate protective measures to tackle new offensive streams,” said the group and mentioned real -time blocks already in place in Italy, Greece, Portugal and Brazil.
To do so, not just ISPs (ISPs) should play a key role in blocking pirated content. MPA is also pushing for cooperation from all other service providers that can connect users to piracy sites.
“This includes reverse proxy providers, content delivery networks (CDNs), hosting of providers, VPNs and search engines,” MPA said.
VPNS, DNS services warn against the risk of blocking orders
Map to Domain Name System, A DNS server acts as the Internet phone book by translating users’ requests into strings of numbers -IP addresses -to connect them with the right sites on the web. A DNS also plays a key role in how a content delivery network (CDN) works to enable efficient traffic route and optimize content delivery.
A virtual private network (VPN) is a security software that masks users’ real IP addresses. Although this skill is crucial to bypassing strict state imposed internet restrictions, it can also be used as a solution to the current anti-piracy tactics involving blocking access to piracy sites based on users’ browsing placement.
This is why according to MPA: “Failing to involve these actors undermining the effectiveness of dynamic injunctions, as pirates are increasingly dependent on them to hide their infrastructure and avoid enforcement.”
While asking CDN, DNS and VPNs to block illegal content appears to be the way to go for rights owners, these providers have warned that these measures may damage the infrastructure on which the Internet is built.
As a recent report pointed out actually, Internet blocking can lead to overpowering events and Internet fragmentation. In Italy, for example, the country’s piracy system caused widespread service breaks on other platforms such as Google Drive.
This is the reason why according to leading DNS and CDN provider cloudflare, “Network blocking will never be the solution” and suggested that we think of any Internet block as internet censorship.
Tensions between rights holders and Internet services have now escalated when VPN services enter the crisis. As mentioned earlier, a French court recently ordered five VPN providers to block access to over 200 illegal sports sites. Italy has also shared plans to expand anti-piracy obligations to DNS and VPN providers.
However, the VPN industry warns that this creates “a dangerous precedent” that can have a cool effect on all people who use these services to protect their privacy and security.
