Laliga's ip blocks: collateral damage for online businesses?

Spanish football fans aren't the only ones feeling the sting of LaLiga’s aggressive campaign against online piracy. A growing chorus of legitimate businesses—from e-commerce sites to payment processors—are reporting disruptions and financial losses as a result of the league's IP blocking measures, a situation two legal experts are now calling into question.

The legal basis and the problematic method

The crackdown stems from a December 2023 ruling by Barcelona’s Mercantile Court No. 6, granting LaLiga the power to swiftly block IP addresses linked to illegal streaming. The stated goal—to curtail real-time piracy—is, in principle, laudable. However, the execution, according to lawyers Claudia and Valeria Almira, is deeply flawed.

The core issue lies in the shared infrastructure underpinning much of the internet. Many websites, particularly those utilizing Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) like Cloudflare, share the same IP addresses. Blocking these IPs, therefore, isn't a surgical strike against pirate sites; it’s akin to shutting down an entire building to evict a single tenant—or, as the Almira sisters put it, “killing flies with a cannon.” This blunt instrument approach impacts entirely unrelated services. The result? Legitimate online retailers suddenly unable to process orders, platforms experiencing critical failures during key moments, and payment systems grinding to a halt.

“Imagine a scenario where an online store can't complete a transaction during a crucial sales period, or a payment gateway fails mid-purchase,” explains Valeria Almira. “These aren't hypothetical situations; we're seeing them unfold with increasing frequency during football matches.”

Proportionality and the erosion of legal certainty

Beyond the immediate disruption, the lawyers raise serious concerns about the proportionality of the measures and the resulting legal uncertainty. “Is it justifiable to harm innocent third parties in the pursuit of combating piracy?” Claudia Almira asks pointedly. Businesses are left in the dark, unsure when they might be affected, lacking clear explanations for the blocks, and without effective recourse to challenge them.

The reliance on CDNs further complicates matters. Cloudflare, a primary point of contention with LaLiga, hosts countless legitimate websites. Blocking Cloudflare IPs indiscriminately impacts a vast range of online services, far beyond the scope of piracy prevention. The situation has escalated to the point where even services like Glovo, the popular delivery app, and ski resort websites have found themselves caught in the crossfire.

The current approach isn't just about football; it's undermining trust in the digital ecosystem of Spain. It raises fundamental questions about the balance between intellectual property rights and the freedom of the internet, and the potential for disproportionate harm to legitimate businesses and users.

The lawyers’ critique echoes growing concerns, with groups like RootedCON already taking LaLiga’s actions to the Constitutional Court. The question now becomes whether Spanish courts will prioritize the league’s quest to eliminate piracy at all costs, or recognize the escalating collateral damage to the wider internet landscape.

The legal battle is far from over, but the impact on Spanish businesses is already palpable, underscoring the need for a more nuanced and targeted approach to tackling online piracy.