French justice orders the blocking of dozens of sites for illegal downloading of films, series and music

Cascading hard blows for the world of illegal downloading. In a series of decisions rendered on April 4, 2024, the Paris judicial court ordered the main internet service providers (ISPs) in France to block access to several dozen streaming sites and torrent links allowing people to consult films, series or music in violation of copyright.

These decisions target more than fifty sites such as Torrent9, Cpasbien, YggTorrent or Flac24bitmusic, noted Alexandre Archambault, lawyer specializing in new technologies law, on April 10 on the social network X (formerly Twitter). They followed complaints from rights holders such as the Civil Society of Phonographic Producers (with two procedures), the National Center for Cinema and Animated Images (CNC), Disney, Gaumont and Paramount.

Justice has therefore ordered the main French operators, namely Orange, Bouygues Télécom, Free and SFR, to prevent access to these sites by their subscribers. They must put in place measures within 15 days of the decision (April 4), and for a period of eighteen months, the court decisions detail.