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Quad9 to exit France after court orders it to block pirate sites

Quad9 to exit France after court orders it to block pirate sites

Rule Changes

Swiss nonprofit quits French market over court-ordered domain blocking

October 22nd, 2026: Quad9 announces exit from France

Overview

Updated Oct 24

Quad9 will stop answering domain lookups for users in France on November 24, after a Paris court ordered it to block domains linked to pirated WTA tennis streams or pay €1,000 a day. A bailiff's report in June found two of the six ordered domains still reachable through Quad9. The Swiss nonprofit says it cannot tell which users are French and will not start keeping logs to find out.

Quad9 puts its own bill at €24,000 through November 14, the day the order lapses, and says it would rather leave than block. Roughly 20 other French cases are pending against it and other public resolvers, and its appeal of the October 21 penalty has not been decided. Since October 16, beIN Sports has also been able to block pirate addresses live during matches under a sports law passed in August.

Why it matters

If a court can order a no-logs DNS resolver to block sites by country, every privacy-focused resolver faces the same choice.

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Key Indicators

€1,000
Daily penalty for refusing to block
Court-imposed fine per day of delay, running until the WTA tour ends November 14.
€24,000
Quad9's estimated fine through November 14
Quad9's own arithmetic for the daily penalty, which it says it cannot survive once similar cases stack up.
€580,000
Daily penalty beIN sought
The sum beIN Sports asked the court to impose, by Quad9's account; the judge cut it to €1,000 a day.
20+
Pending lawsuits against Quad9 in France
French courts are hearing roughly 20 cases demanding similar blocks from Quad9 and other DNS resolvers.
6
Domain names the May 13 order named
The May 13 judgment listed six domains and subdomains for blocking, and covered IPTV services not yet identified. Quad9 told the court it had blocked none of them as of September 25.

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Organizations Involved

The Quad (US, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE)
The Quad (US, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE)
Mediation Group
Exiting France November 24, 2026; appeal of the October 21 penalty pending

Swiss nonprofit running the free 9.9.9.9 DNS resolver, which blocks known malware domains.
SF
beIN Sports France
Broadcaster
Won blocking order and daily penalties against Quad9; also authorized to block pirate streams live during matches

Subscription broadcaster owned by Qatar's beIN Media Group, holding French rights to the WTA tennis tour.

Timeline

May 2026 November 2026

8 events Latest: October 22nd, 2026 · 3 weeks ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Quad9 scheduled to exit France

    Upcoming Statement

    The DNS provider plans to cease service to French users, ten days after the order expires.

  2. WTA season ends, blocking order lapses

    Upcoming Legal

    The tournament's end date dissolves the court's blocking measures and the associated daily penalty.

  3. Quad9 announces exit from France

    Latest Statement

    Quad9 says it will stop serving French users on November 24, calling the blocking order technically impossible to follow.

  4. Court imposes €1,000-per-day penalty on Quad9

    Legal

    Paris court orders Quad9 to implement the May blocking order under a €1,000 daily fine until the WTA tour ends.

  5. beIN wins live blocking of pirate streams

    Legal

    A Paris court lets beIN block addresses pirating Bundesliga matches while they air, under a sports law passed in August. Regulator Arcom supervises the system.

  6. beIN files to enforce penalties

    Legal

    With court authorization, beIN asks the court to fine Quad9 for each day it leaves the domains unblocked; Quad9 puts the sum beIN sought at €580,000 per day.

  7. beIN sends formal notice to Quad9

    Legal

    The broadcaster demands Quad9 comply with the May 13 blocking order.

  8. Paris court orders Quad9 to block streaming domains

    Legal

    Court directs Quad9 to block six domains linked to pirated WTA tennis broadcasts until the season ends November 14.

Scenarios

1

Quad9 completes its exit and stays out of France

Likely Resolves by Dec 15, 2026

Discussed by: Quad9's October 22 announcement

Quad9 follows through, ceasing service to French users on November 24. The penalty lapses November 14 when the WTA season ends, so the immediate fines stop, but nothing forces Quad9 back. The outcome solidifies the nonprofit's position that it will not block domains.

2

French appeal court overturns the blocking order

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Quad9, which says an appeal is pending

Quad9 appeals the October 21 penalty ruling. If a higher court finds a neutral DNS resolver cannot reasonably enforce such blocks, Quad9 could resume service in France. A favorable ruling would also weaken the roughly 20 similar pending cases against it and other resolvers.

3

DNS blocking orders spread to other resolvers in France

Possible Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Quad9, which notes about 20 pending lawsuits against it and other recursive resolver operators

French courts continue to pursue other public DNS providers over pirate sports streams. Another major resolver either begins blocking domains or exits the French market. That would cement DNS-level blocking as standard French practice beyond Quad9 alone.

Historical Context

One moment from history that rhymes with this story — and how it unfolded.

2021-2023

Sony Music vs. Quad9, Germany (2021-2023)

A German court ordered Quad9 to block content Sony Music said was pirated. Quad9 tried geo-blocking, restricting access by location, but a Sony employee used a VPN to reach the blocked content from Germany anyway. The court agreed with Sony that Quad9 was noncompliant and fined it for contempt.

Then

Quad9 paid contempt fines before the matter ultimately resolved in its favor.

Now

Quad9 concluded location-based blocking is unreliable and says it will not attempt it again.

Why this matters now

Quad9 cites the German failure as the reason it refuses to try geo-blocking in France, calling it a 'hack' that cannot be validated and that a determined user can bypass.

Sources

(11)
+5
Quad9 TSN Media L'Informé Hacker News CNET France heise online Habr Sans dépendances TorrentFreak CyberInsider Tribunal judiciaire de Paris