DNS service Quad9 to leave France after court order
The Swiss foundation will stop its free service for French users on 24 November following a dispute over blocking piracy sites.
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The DNS service Quad9 is withdrawing from France on 24 November. The organisation says a French court has obliged it to block domain names that sports broadcaster beIN Sports claims infringe copyright.
Quad9 announced its departure on Thursday, a day after the French court handed down its ruling. The foundation says that from 24 November it will no longer offer users in France a free cyber-protection service. The announced withdrawal has therefore not yet taken effect.
The dispute concerns domain names that beIN Sports says are used for unauthorised broadcasts of sporting events. Quad9 is not the hosting company for those websites, but a DNS resolver: the service translates a domain name into its corresponding internet address. A block at that level can prevent users from reaching a site through that resolver.
According to Quad9, the daily penalty imposed was reduced from €580,000 to €1,000. The foundation nevertheless says it cannot implement the block reliably enough without compromising its service or privacy commitments. Quad9 has announced that it will appeal.
The case therefore goes beyond the question of which sports websites are accessible. The central issue is whether courts can oblige a general, privacy-focused DNS service to selectively alter answers for users in one country. Quad9 describes DNS resolution as a neutral and passive function; in this case, blocking through a technical intermediary is being used to enforce copyright.
According to the available information, nothing will change for Dutch internet users. The withdrawal applies to users in France. The case is nevertheless relevant to European providers of DNS, hosting and security services, because a ruling on the role of technical intermediaries could be cited as a precedent in other blocking cases.
The French decision is not yet final while the appeal is pending. Nor is it clear whether other DNS services in France will make similar choices. In this case, enforcement against online piracy is directed at an infrastructure service that does not itself publish content.
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One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Quad9 has announced that it will withdraw from France on 24 November.
- The announcement follows a French court decision in a case concerning the blocking of domains.
- The dispute concerns websites that beIN Sports claims infringe copyright.
- Quad9 says it will appeal.
Left
Arguments Emphasises that broad blocking orders can undermine the openness and privacy of internet infrastructure. Rights holders should use targeted means that do not alter the operation of neutral services.
Values Digital rights, privacy and free access to information.
Consequences Greater restraint in imposing blocks could limit collateral damage, but would make enforcement against large-scale piracy more difficult.
Centre
Arguments Regards copyright protection as legitimate, but wants judges to explicitly weigh technical feasibility, proportionality and avenues of appeal. Blocks must demonstrably be targeted and subject to scrutiny.
Values Legal certainty, proportionality and independent review.
Consequences A clear legal framework could make enforcement more predictable, but would require greater oversight and technical expertise.
Right
Arguments Emphasises that rights holders must be able to protect their investments and that technical intermediaries should not be able to remain entirely beyond reach when their services facilitate access to illegal streams.
Values Property, market forces and enforcement of rules.
Consequences Wider blocking powers could reduce piracy, but increase the likelihood that infrastructure services will withdraw from countries.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The announcement of the withdrawal, the date and the amounts are confirmed by Quad9 and an independent technology source. The legal significance is described as a matter of debate and possible precedent, not as an established consequence.
- confirmed Quad9 will stop its free service for users in France on 24 November. — Quad9 announces this date itself; TechPi confirms that it concerns a future withdrawal. source
- confirmed The dispute concerns the blocking of domains that beIN Sports says facilitate piracy. — Quad9 and TorrentFreak describe the case in these terms. source
- confirmed The daily penalty was reduced from €580,000 to €1,000. — Quad9 mentions both amounts in its announcement. source
- confirmed Quad9 is appealing. — Quad9 writes that an appeal is under way. source
Editor's note
It is certain that Quad9 has announced its withdrawal from 24 November and that this follows a French court decision in a case involving beIN Sports. The full ruling and the consequences of the pending appeal were not publicly available in the sources consulted.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
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