Quad9 exits French market due to court order

Quad9, a Swiss-based recursive DNS service, has decided to stop operating in France after a court ordered it to block access to websites illegally streaming WTA tennis matches. The Paris judicial court confirmed in October 2026 that Quad9 must take steps to prevent access to such sites, a requirement it had already been ordered to follow in May 2026.

Legal action targets multiple DNS providers

The plaintiff, beIN Sports France, also took legal action against Google and the Czech company Whalebone for similar reasons. Quad9 has appealed the court’s decision but faces a daily fine of €1,000 for non-compliance and potential legal issues from 20 other ongoing cases. As a result, Quad9 has decided to stop offering its services in France, with its recursive DNS ceasing to respond starting November 24, 2026.

Quad9 opposes geographic blocking

Quad9 has stated it opposes implementing a global or geographic block based on IP geolocation, arguing that such measures would subject users worldwide to French laws and conflict with its commitment to user data privacy and DNS integrity. The company also worries that such actions might lead to more requests for blocks on non-commercial grounds, such as moral, religious, or political reasons.

German court rejects GeoIP filters

A previous court in Germany rejected the use of GeoIP filters after a company demonstrated their ineffectiveness by using a virtual private network (VPN). This decision highlights the challenges of using geographic-based blocking to prevent access to illegal content.

Cloudflare faces similar legal pressure

Cloudflare, another major DNS provider, was ordered by the Paris judicial court in April 2026 to block 21 domains broadcasting F1 and 16 domains broadcasting MotoGP. Unlike Quad9, Cloudflare implemented the block at the level of its content delivery network (CDN) but not at its DNS service (1.1.1.1).

Court acknowledges Cloudflare’s approach

Canal+, the plaintiff in Cloudflare’s case, was not fully satisfied with the effectiveness of the measures, as many sites found ways around the restrictions by switching CDN providers or using mirror sites. Cloudflare defended its approach, stating that acting at the CDN level was more effective. In September 2026, the court ruled in favor of Cloudflare, citing a 2014 European Court of Justice ruling that focused on the obligation of means rather than results for technical intermediaries.

Cloudflare and Quad9 share concerns

Like Quad9, Cloudflare has expressed reservations about using DNS resolvers as the main tool to block access to domains, mainly due to the risk of affecting users outside France. In a similar move, OpenDNS, now part of Cisco, left France in June 2024.