The MPA becomes the latest body to target VPNs in a bid to combat piracy

The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has called for an automated blocking system to block online piracy in real-time, and bypass the need for court approval.
The body represents major streaming giants including Disney+, Netflix, and Warner Bros. It has urged VPN providers, proxies, and Content Delivery Systems (CDNs), such as Cloudfare, to engage with the group and enforce dynamic blocking.
Internet blocking goes against the core principles of the best VPNs and this move follows similar demands by Canal+ and the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) in France.
Leading VPN providers were dealt a major blow as Canal+ won a legal case which ordered VPN providers to block illegal sports streaming sites.
Whilst VPN providers don't condone the use of VPNs for illegal activities, site blocking risks a wider impact on internet freedoms.
In 2023, the EU Commission published recommendations of how to combat online piracy. VPNs were not directly targeted in this report but the use of "dynamic injunctions" was part of its recommendations, as well as "cooperation" between rights holders and intermediaries.
The Commission encouraged VPN providers to consider "voluntary measures to prevent their services from being misused."
First reported by TorrentFreak, the MPA responded at the end of May 2025. It submitted its comments on the effectiveness of the proposals and noted inconsistencies between countries' implementation of the recommendations and complete absences in others.
"Europe is missing effective and appropriate implementation of these provisions across all Member States," the MPA said.
The MPA called for automated blocking techniques which would enable rightsholders to tackle piracy and copyright infringement in real-time.
"MPA is therefore supportive of automated effective siteblocking mechanisms that can be updated in real-time with appropriate safeguards to address emerging infringing streams," the group said.
It also cited use of this technology in other countries, saying "in Italy, Greece, Portugal and Brazil automated dynamic systems are available to rightsholders allowing effective real-time blocks."
According to the MPA, collaboration is essential and more intermediaries should have a role in combating piracy. It said CDNs "have the technical capability to implement targeted blocking at the infrastructure level" but called proxies and VPNs to co-operate, saying they "provide essential services to piracy operators."
Many argue that VPNs are being unfairly targeted. When Canal+ first launched legal action against a collection of VPN providers, the VPN Trust Initiative (VTI), a VPN working group, was quick to defend VPN services.
It said: "VPNs are not facilitators of piracy. They neither host, store, nor promote copyrighted material. Such content is not discovered and referenced via privacy-focused VPN tools. Targeting VPN services for activities they do not enable or promote is a misguided and disproportionate approach."
Following Canal+ case ruling, the Internet Infrastructure (i2) Coalition – an internet freedom and privacy advocacy group – condemned blocking orders.
"This blocking approach – which has failed in the past – relies on blunt technical instruments instead of precise enforcement tools to address the actual sources of piracy. Therefore it will not reduce infringement, and will only cause widespread collateral damage."
Adding that "ethically-operated VPNs do not host, store, or promote illegitimate access to copyrighted material" – they "prohibit" it.
The MPA wants more to be done when it comes to identifying the operators of piracy sites. It said rightsholders should be able to use "Right of Information" requests to identify individuals and wants the EU to expand its "Know Your Business Customer (KYBC)" requirements to online intermediaries.
Trustworthy VPN providers uphold strict no-logs policies, meaning they collect and store as little information as possible – with the most private VPNs collecting the bare minimum.
If VPNs don't collect and store the identifiable information of their users and don't record what sites they visit, then complying with identity requests would be practically impossible.
Windscribe boss Yegor Sak's recent Greek legal case highlighted how important no-logs policies are. The fact Windscribe had no identifiable data to hand over was a significant reason the case against Sak was dropped.
Protecting the privacy of users is a fundamental role of VPNs and leading VPN providers would not put this at risk. Proton VPN CEO Andy Yen recently said that Proton would rather leave Switzerland than comply with a controversial proposed revision to Swiss encryption law.
At this stage, there is no legal action being taken against VPNs but there is a growing, negative attitude towards VPNs and anti-piracy.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

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CNET

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Surfshark is much easier on the wallet and includes some unique privacy features not offered by ExpressVPN, but it lags a little in a few key areas like streaming as well as privacy and transparency. Both offer a good value at their respective prices, but Surfshark takes the edge with its budget-friendly prices and more flexible tiered subscription plans. ExpressVPN's monthly plan costs $13 per month, the yearly plan goes for $100 for the first 15 months and renews at $117 per year, while the two-year plan is $140 for the first 28 months and renews at $140. The monthly plan includes the VPN, Keys password manager and a dark web monitoring service, which is part of ExpressVPN's new suite of Identity Defender tools. The yearly plan includes everything in the monthly plan and adds coverage up to $1 million in identity theft insurance and a credit scanner, while the two-year plan adds a monthly credit report and data removal services. Surfshark, on the other hand, delivers a lot of value for casual users on long-term subscription plans. Surfshark's monthly plan costs $15.45, which is unnecessarily expensive and not something I'd recommend purchasing under any circumstances. If you only need a VPN for a month, you're much better off with ExpressVPN at $13, Proton VPN at $10 or even Mullvad at $5. Surfshark's Starter plan, yearly and two-year plans offer tremendous value, though. The yearly plan costs $48 for the first 15 months and renews at $79 annually and the two-year plan costs $60 for the first 27 months and $79 annually thereafter. At that price, you'll get Surfshark's Alternative ID personal detail generator alongside a VPN on the entry-level Starter plan. Part of my issue with ExpressVPN's pricing structure is that the company jacked up its prices when it rolled out ID protection features, without adding too much value. 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The top-tier plan that includes all of those services costs $20.65 per month, $91 for the first 15 months (then $119 annually) or $108 for the first 27 months (then $119 annually). That's just $2 more per year than ExpressVPN charges on its yearly plan and $21 cheaper than its two-year plan, so if you find those extra services useful, you may find Surfshark a better value overall regardless of which subscription tier you choose. Privacy and security winner: ExpressVPN's privacy and transparency are nearly unmatched If you're a journalist, whistleblower, activist or anyone else with critical online privacy needs, I recommend choosing ExpressVPN over Surfshark because of its forward-thinking privacy initiatives. If you're fine with general privacy protections or want access to unique features, Surfshark is an excellent choice. 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Although independent audits don't paint a full picture, they're still important trust signals, and when done at such a steady clip, can be even more compelling. All of ExpressVPN's audit reports are available to peruse through its extensive Trust Center, which also contains a wealth of information about the company's security practices, innovations, biannual transparency reports, privacy initiatives and more. In addition to no-logging policies, both ExpressVPN and Surfshark employ secure AES 256-bit and ChaCha20 encryption standards, along with critical privacy protections like a kill switch and DNS leak protection. ExpressVPN is headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, a privacy-friendly jurisdiction outside of the Five, Nine and 14-Eyes data-sharing alliances. Surfshark is based in the Netherlands, which is part of the alliance and may therefore pose an issue for users with critical privacy needs because countries with intelligence-sharing agreements may comply with international requests for user information. Both VPNs offer features that automatically change your IP address during your connection, but each provider's feature operates slightly differently. ExpressVPN's IPShuffle feature automatically changes your IP address for every site you visit and works in the background, whereas Surfshark's IP Rotator automatically changes your IP address every few minutes and must be manually enabled by the user in the app. Either way, both implementations are designed to make it even more difficult for an adversary to track you online. Surfshark delivers a few extra privacy features that ExpressVPN doesn't. Surfshark's Dynamic MultiHop feature lets you select any two server locations from its network to tunnel through, encrypting your traffic twice instead of just once and adding an extra layer of privacy. Alternative ID is another feature I really like from Surfshark. With Alternative ID, you can generate a whole fake persona, complete with full name, email address, physical address and birthdate to use on websites where you don't want to share your personal information. A brand-new feature called Everlink, which Surfshark calls a 'self-healing server infrastructure,' also helps the provider stand out from the pack. Essentially, Everlink works to automatically and seamlessly reconfigure the VPN tunnel in the event of a server failure or server maintenance. This can help ensure more reliable connections while mitigating the risk of your traffic being exposed in case the server you're connected to fails. While Everlink could theoretically eliminate the need for a traditional kill switch, I'd recommend having Surfshark's kill switch employed at all times, regardless, for an extra layer of privacy. Usability winner: ExpressVPN is the easiest VPN to use across platforms ExpressVPN's apps are the simplest to use on virtually any platform, making the service an excellent choice for beginners. The apps are easy to navigate and deliver a consistent experience across most platforms -- although ExpressVPN's Apple TV app is laid out a bit differently. Either way, none of ExpressVPN's apps require any learning curve whatsoever, so even if you've never used a VPN before, you'll have no trouble getting started. Surfshark is also incredibly easy to use across platforms, but its apps require just a little more getting used to than ExpressVPN's because of its busier interface. 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Both VPNs also work on routers, but ExpressVPN offers an unbeatable router app that makes it super easy to use the service on its own Aircove or other compatible router for whole network coverage or use on devices like Roku streaming devices that don't natively support VPN apps. Both providers are also excellent choices for streaming geographically restricted content from around the world. However, ExpressVPN has an edge due to its flawless unblocking performance and its intuitive router app. During my latest streaming tests, ExpressVPN was able to unblock everything I tried on popular streaming services like Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video -- across all platforms I tested. Surfshark also performed admirably, but I ran into issues with Netflix sluggishly loading thumbnails when connected to the VPN on my Mac. And Hulu detected Surfshark and blocked access to its content when I tried to stream on my Fire TV Stick -- although it worked to unblock Hulu on other platforms. With ExpressVPN, you'll have access to a vast global network of 11,500-plus servers across 105 countries, which is larger than Surfshark's 3,200-plus servers across 100 countries. However, with Surfshark, you can connect an unlimited number of devices simultaneously, while ExpressVPN limits you to eight simultaneous connections, making Surfshark a better choice for large households or people with many devices. Bottom line If you're still undecided, know that whether you choose ExpressVPN or Surfshark, you're getting one of the best VPNs available. Both VPNs are excellent all-around services that deliver strong privacy, fast speeds and top-notch usability. Which one you ultimately go with may come down to your budget, your privacy needs or your streaming requirements. For users with critical privacy needs, I recommend ExpressVPN because of its forward-thinking privacy protections, extreme transparency and privacy-friendly jurisdiction. I also recommend ExpressVPN for people who like to stream tons of international content because of the extensive reach of its server network paired with its outstanding unblocking capabilities. If you're on a budget, I recommend Surfshark because the pricing on its long-term plans is much easier on the wallet than ExpressVPN's prices -- and you still get a solid, premium VPN experience even though you're paying considerably less. Surfshark is also an excellent choice if you want cool extra features like Alternative ID or Dynamic MultiHop.

Gizmodo

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