Federal Court in Canada Grants New Site Blocking Order

Canada’s Federal Court has issued a new piracy site blocking order, which mandates Internet providers to block specific IP addresses linked to sports streaming piracy.

This order targets NBA, NHL, and Premier League games and was swiftly amended to include the Euro 2024 football final.

Background on Site Blocking in Canada

Three years ago, Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal upheld the first pirate site-blocking order in the country. This landmark decision paved the way for more advanced blocking requests.

Last year, the Canadian government also passed a bill called “The Online Streaming Act” which is seen as another form of censorship by many.

NHL broadcasters were quick to follow up with a blocking order of their own, which was soon followed by a FIFA World Cup blocking order. More recently, MLB pirates were also targeted through similar injunctions.

These blocking orders are not standalone requests but are part of lawsuits against operators of pirate streaming servers.

The lawsuits aim to pursue claims against these defendants while the blockades serve as temporary measures to mitigate the damage caused by these services.

New NHL, NBA, and Premier League Piracy Blockade

Instead of pursuing blocking requests separately, rightsholders including Bell, Fubo TV, Rogers, and The Sports Network filed a joint request covering multiple sports.

This request targeted upcoming NBA, NHL, and Premier League games, identifying three “John Doe” defendants and several associated IP addresses. Last Tuesday, Canada’s Federal Court granted this joint blocking request.

Although the IP addresses are redacted in the public order, it is clear that various piracy operations, such as the publicly available pirate streaming site ‘epllive.net’ and subscription platforms like ‘TVSmarters,’ are involved.

Dynamic and Expanding Blocking Order

The dynamic nature of this blocking order allows rightsholders to return to court to expand the list of blocked IP addresses.

This ensures that the injunction remains effective even if pirate streaming services attempt to circumvent the blocking measures.

The order’s validity varies per sport. The NBA order extends until the 2025-2026 season, with coverage limited to the Toronto Raptors for pre-season and regular-season games, while all playoff games are included.

The Premier League order applies to the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 seasons without restrictions. The NHL order, which covers the 2023-2024 season and the 2024 Stanley Cup, came too late but can be amended to include future games.

The amendment option was quickly utilized to include the Euro 2024 football final. This request was granted last Friday, ensuring that the targeted ISPs implemented the block before the broadcast.

Conclusion

The recent orders demonstrate that rights holders in Canada are continually optimizing and streamlining their blocking measures.

While these efforts may frustrate some local piracy services, Canada is focused on completely defeating piracy.

For more details on this story, refer to the blocking order documentation (PDF) or the report from TorrentFreak.

We want to know your thoughts on this story. What do you think about Canada’s new site blocking order? Let us know in the comment section below!

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