A Spanish governmental committee voted on a Non-Legislative Proposal (PNL) concerning dynamic IP address blocking in the context of the fight against audiovisual fraud. The vote failed to pass the measure. In effect, the vote’s failure supported the anti-piracy strategy of LaLiga, the Spanish professional football league, which includes the use of dynamic IP blocks where illegal broadcasts are detected.
In response to the measure’s failure, LaLiga issued a press release to present relevant information about the matter to the public.
First, LaLiga took the position that, contrary to what was suggested in the PNL, the blocking of IP addresses carried out by various Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in collaboration with LaLiga is proportional, targeted, and temporary, being enforced only during matches. Blocking enforcement is carried out only following verification and documentation of illegal broadcasts of LaLiga content, in strict compliance with a court ruling by the Commercial Court No. 6 of Barcelona.
Also, LaLiga supported the PNL’s call for collaboration among rights-holders and network service providers in the name of reducing piracy.
LaLiga has been building a technological ecosystem of real-time collaborators with whom it works to prevent dynamic IP blocking from affecting third parties unrelated to piracy. These companies include CDN77, Akamai Technologies, Twitch, Vercel, Scaleway, Gcore, among others; which allow for the identification and quick deactivation of illegal streams, avoiding the need to request ISPs to block IP addresses.
Cloudflare an outlier?
LaLiga also reported that as of May 2025, 38% of LaLiga piracy was distributed through Cloudflare’s infrastructure. The tech company is fully aware of the activity occurring on its infrastructure due to the numerous reports and legal notices sent by LaLiga during 2025.
However, LaLiga charges that Cloudflare continues to profit economically, acts willfully, refuses to cooperate, and allows audiovisual fraud to persist using its technology.
Indeed, LALIGA has established that before requesting ISP blocking, a notice is sent to tech intermediaries once illicit content is verified. According to a Grant Thornton study, the effectiveness of these notifications is very limited, only 11% of notifications led to the suspension of illegal broadcasts.
In addition to the lack of cooperation perceived by LaLiga, Cloudflare uses legitimate third-party websites as a digital shield, causing some of its clients to share IP addresses with pirate websites.
Why it matters
LaLiga was concerned by the limited information presented in the PNL, which failed to address both the critical impact of audiovisual fraud on the country’s social and economic infrastructure and the origin of this issue, including the actors who profit from this illegal business.
The combination of collaboration between LaLiga and network service providers and global efforts with other competitions has proven effective, resulting in a 60% decrease in piracy during the 2024/2025 season. Therefore, the organization supports the creation of a national-level protocol that can deactivate pirate activity in real time and increase effectiveness.
Further reading
The Committee on Economic Affairs, Trade and Digital Transformation of the Spanish Congress supports LaLiga’s strategy against audiovisual fraud. Press release. October 23, 2025. LaLiga (Liga Naciounal de Fútbol Profesional, Spain)
Barcelona court denies network service providers’ request to annul blocking decision. Article. March 27, 2025. by Steven Hawley. Piracy Monitor
