'VPNs are lawful technical tools,' says EU Court in landmark copyright ruling
The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that VPN providers and publishers are not liable for copyright infringement when users bypass geo-blocking restrictions. The court affirmed that VPNs are legitimate technical tools and that publishers fulfill their legal obligations by employing state-of-the-art geo-blocking technology.
Why it matters
This ruling provides legal protection for privacy-enhancing technologies and clarifies the boundaries of publisher liability in the digital age, preventing the demonization of VPNs.
The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that publishers and VPN providers aren't liable for copyright infringement
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The landmark judgment - handed down in July 2026 - stems from a complex legal battle over the online publication of Anne Frank's historical manuscripts. At its core, the case forced Europe's top judges to answer a highly technical question: if a publisher actively tries to block visitors from a specific country, are they still breaking the law if a user sneaks past the digital border using circumvention software?
According to the CJEU, the answer is no. As long as a website employs "state-of-the-art" geo-blocking technology, the publisher cannot be held liable for copyright infringement simply because a determined reader decides to fire up the best VPN to bypass the restrictions.
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