La Liga's war on piracy is breaking the internet in Spain — and your VPN could be the next target

It’s Sunday. You remember an important payment you forgot to send, but when you try to access your online banking, the website is down. You turn to ChatGPT for a workaround, but the chatbot won't respond. Resigned, you try to scroll through Instagram while finishing your coffee, but it won't load.

This has become a typical day in Spain whenever the football is on. It isn't a strange marketing tactic to drive viewership. Instead, it's collateral damage from heavy-handed efforts to stop fans watching matches illegally.

Spain's major football league, La Liga, is escalating its battle against piracy. Every weekend since last autumn, the league has enforced IP blocking orders with the help of the country's largest telecom group, Telefónica.