'VPNs are lawful technical tools,' says EU Court in landmark copyright ruling
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
EU Court rules VPNs are lawful technical tools in an Anne Frank copyright case.
The European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruled that VPNs are lawful technical tools, in a case involving the Anne Frank Fonds. The lawsuit centered on whether publishers breaking geo-blocks via circumvention software are liable for copyright infringement. The court said no: a publisher is not liable if users circumvent geo-blocking to access content legal in the host country but protected elsewhere. The ruling affirms that VPNs have legitimate uses, distinguishing them from tools that inherently facilitate illegal activity.
What commenters are saying
Commenters largely focused on the ruling's implications for censorship and geo-blocking, noting it is a significant precedent for privacy. One top comment clarified that the case is about copyright, not surveillance, but warned of wild consequences if the opposite ruling had applied. Another highlighted French regulators ordering ISPs to block Polymarket without judicial review, drawing parallels to censorship regimes. A third noted the U.K. government recently abandoned plans to restrict VPNs for social media bans, citing legitimate privacy and security uses.