LaLiga’s IP blocking came back with the first matchday of the 2026/27 season on 15 August 2026, and by midnight around 550 IP addresses were inaccessible in Spain, according to monitoring cited by the specialist press. The blocks rely on a dynamic blocking injunction obtained in Spain in December 2024, which the press reports will expire on 20 June 2027. For rights holders it is the clearest Spanish model of how far a dynamic order can go, and of the risks it creates for third parties.
Key takeaways
- The blocks rest on a final judgment of Barcelona Commercial Court No. 6 of 18 December 2024, obtained by LaLiga and Telefónica Audiovisual Digital.
- Cloudflare’s network was again the most affected; Digi blocked the most addresses for the longest time, according to BandaAncha (16 August 2026).
- OONI measurements published on 30 June 2026 found over 500,000 domains blocked at some point during match broadcasts.
- Spanish law requires measures against intermediaries to be objective, proportionate and non-discriminatory.
What happened on 15 August?
According to Xataka Móvil (17 August 2026) and BandaAncha, both citing the monitoring site HayAhoraFútbol, the blocks began shortly before the first match on Saturday evening and peaked at around 550 IP addresses near midnight. Orange and MásMóvil blocked fewer addresses than other operators. Because many of those IPs are shared by content delivery networks (CDNs), blocking one address can also take down unrelated websites hosted behind it, including e-commerce sites.
The legal basis: a dynamic blocking injunction in Spain
A dynamic injunction is a court order that names the intermediaries who must act (here, internet access providers) and lets the list of blocked locations be updated during its life, without going back to court each time. In LaLiga’s account of 26 March 2025, the Barcelona court dismissed in full the applications to annul the proceedings filed by Cloudflare and RootedCON, among others, against the final judgment of 18 December 2024. In June 2025 Cloudflare took the matter to the Constitutional Court with an amparo appeal, as Genbeta reported.
The statutory basis is the Spanish Intellectual Property Act. Article 138 allows the cessation measure of Article 139.1(h), suspension of an intermediary’s services, and interim measures to be sought against intermediaries whose services a third party uses to infringe, even if the intermediary does not itself infringe. It adds that such measures “must be objective, proportionate and non-discriminatory”.
What the EU expects from dynamic injunctions
The European Commission’s Recommendation of 4 May 2023 on online piracy of sports and live events encourages Member States to make dynamic injunctions available, but sets safeguards:
| Recommendation | What it says | Why it matters here |
|---|---|---|
| Updating the list | Case-by-case methodology, with cooperation between rights holders and addressees, subject to judicial control | Who checks each new IP before it is blocked |
| Targeting | Measures strictly targeted, not unnecessarily depriving users of lawful information | Shared CDN addresses host lawful sites |
| Blocked locations | Locations mainly dedicated to unauthorised content | A CDN IP is rarely “mainly dedicated” to piracy |
| Timing and duration | No longer than necessary; blocking only during the live transmission | Blocks lifted after matches limit the damage |
How large is the collateral damage?
The OONI report of 30 June 2026, based on DNS scans of 9.2 million popular domains, found at least 554,510 domains blocked at some point during LaLiga broadcasts, at least 5.8% of the most popular domains tested. Blocking only 4 to 20 IP addresses in a one-hour window affected over 400,000 unique domains on several networks. Affected sites included human rights, environmental and news websites with no link to football.
What this means for your business
There are two lessons, depending on which side you are on:
- As a rights holder (sports, live events, streaming, software): Spain offers dynamic relief against intermediaries, but the order’s scope and the method for adding new targets will be scrutinised. Prefer precise identifiers (URLs, domains) where possible, document every addition and budget for challenges by affected third parties.
- As a business hosted on shared infrastructure: monitor availability in Spain during match windows, keep records of outages and lost sales, and raise it with your CDN or hosting provider, which may have its own channels with operators and the courts.
For live content, a blocking order is one tool among several: notices to hosting providers, platform procedures under the Digital Services Act and action against the operators themselves. Our IP enforcement and litigation team can combine them, and our copyright and digital works practice covers the rights behind the content.
Where rights holders get blocking strategies wrong
- Treating breadth as effectiveness. Over-blocking invites nullity applications, constitutional appeals and political pressure that can cost the order itself.
- Thin evidence on each new target. Dynamic orders still need proof that the location is used for infringement.
- Forgetting the end date. An order with an expiry date needs a renewal plan well before it lapses.
- Ignoring other countries. A Spanish order stops nothing in Mexico, Colombia or Morocco; each market needs its own route.
Frequently asked questions
What is a dynamic blocking injunction?
It is a court order requiring intermediaries, such as internet access providers, to block access to infringing content, where the list of blocked domains, URLs or IP addresses can be updated during the order’s life without new proceedings. The EU Recommendation of May 2023 encourages them for live events, subject to judicial control and targeting safeguards.
Until when can LaLiga keep blocking IP addresses?
According to Xataka Móvil and BandaAncha, the December 2024 judgment covers three seasons from 2024/25 and its cover will expire on 20 June 2027, the expected date of the last second-division match. Both outlets expect LaLiga and Telefónica to seek a new authorisation for later seasons.
Can a business affected by collateral blocking do anything?
It should document the outages, their timing and the commercial impact, and contact its hosting or CDN provider. Whether it can bring a claim depends on the facts and on who caused the harm, so it is worth assessing with a lawyer before acting, especially given the pending challenges.
Can IP Global Guard handle online piracy enforcement for my content?
Yes. We design the enforcement strategy, prepare the evidence and coordinate injunction applications and platform notices, acting directly where our professionals are entitled and through qualified local counsel otherwise, across Europe, Latin America and Africa from a single point of contact.
How IP Global Guard can help protect your live content
Effective anti-piracy work balances speed with orders that survive challenge. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, coordinates enforcement across more than 25 jurisdictions in Europe, Latin America and Africa, with one strategy and one billing relationship.
Tell us what content you need to protect, in which countries and how it is being pirated. We will map the available routes, from platform notices to court orders, and coordinate them. Speak to our enforcement team.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and reflects the situation at its publication date.
Sources
- Xataka Móvil, Empieza LaLiga y vuelve un viejo conocido: los bloqueos por IPs (17 August 2026)
- BandaAncha, LaLiga exprime su aval judicial reactivando el bloqueo de IPs (16 August 2026)
- LaLiga, press release on the dismissal of the nullity applications (26 March 2025)
- Genbeta, Cloudflare files an amparo appeal with the Constitutional Court (9 June 2025)
- OONI, Collateral damage of IP-based blocking during LALIGA football streaming in Spain (30 June 2026)
- BOE, Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996, Intellectual Property Act (consolidated text)
- European Commission, Recommendation C(2023) 2853 on combating online piracy of sports and other live events (4 May 2023)
