La Liga (LaLiga) implements one of the most aggressive digital filtering mechanisms in Europe at the start of each football season. This organization, supported by court rulings, requests Spanish operators to block hundreds of IPs related to the illegal streaming of matches in real-time. While the primary goal is to reduce digital theft, the actual effect of this action is to harm internet access for ordinary users.
Effects of IP Blocking
These blocks are problematic because many websites and online services do not have a dedicated IP. In other words, when an IP is blocked, all services and websites dependent on it also become inaccessible. This situation means harm to internet users who are seeking access to legal content. For example, if someone illegally steals electricity in Madrid (the service area), it would be unreasonable to cut off electricity for the entire city.
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High Number of Blocks
La Liga claims that these blocks are not only massive but also carried out in a balanced and targeted manner. However, the reality shows that the number of blocked IPs per match varies between 500 to 1000. On the first day of the 2026-2027 season, 550 IPs were blocked simultaneously. These blocks are only enforced during the matches and are gradually lifted afterward.
Reports indicate that in the first half of 2026, 7441 addresses belonging to 36 different providers were blocked, including Amazon AWS, Cloudflare, and Microsoft. While La Liga points to annual losses between 600 to 700 million euros due to digital theft, innocent companies also suffer damage.
In fact, every time a match is held in Spain, this system disproportionately impacts websites and online services negatively. For example, in a recent match, websites like mandalaweb.es and todopuntodecruz.com were completely taken offline. Using a VPN from outside Spain shows that these websites have no connection to digital theft.
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