Since May, the DNS resolver Quad9 has not been following a court order in France that required it to block websites that illegally stream tennis matches. beIN Sports, a French sports channel, is now seeking up to 580,000 euros per day from Quad9 and is considering leaving France if the Paris court rules in favor of the channel. The court issued this order on May 13 at the request of beIN Sports, requiring Quad9, along with Google and DNS4EU, to block access to sites that broadcast matches from the WTA circuit. beIN Sports later added 52 domain names to the original list in two updates. However, Quad9 has not blocked any of these sites and explained its refusal to TorrentFreak, a technology news site. Quad9 argues that French courts are asking the impossible, as a DNS resolver has no reliable way to determine if an internet user is in France. beIN Sports initially claimed a daily penalty of 2,000 euros per domain not blocked, but the court rejected this because Quad9 had not shown any intention to disobey at the time. The judges had only planned for the parties to return if any issues arose. Since the sites have not been blocked, beIN Sports has increased its request fivefold, now claiming 10,000 euros per domain and per day, totaling 580,000 euros daily. The court heard both sides at the beginning of October, and if it rules in favor of beIN Sports, Quad9 could end up paying several million euros per week. When asked about the situation, beIN Sports declined to comment, citing the ongoing legal process. Quad9 explained that it could technically block the 58 domains, but the court requires the block to apply only to users in France. Quad9 does not collect data on its users, and to determine a user's location, it would have to rely on third-party databases that link IP addresses to locations. Quad9 argues that these databases are often incomplete or inaccurate. “There is no legally valid way for us to define a French user,” Quad9 summarized. The Paris judges, however, did not accept this reasoning. In their May order, they stated that the defendants had not proven either the cost or the technical impossibility of a France-specific block. If the court rules in favor of beIN Sports, Quad9 will face a difficult choice. It could attempt to block the sites only for French users, but this could lead to new fines if there are any geolocation errors. Alternatively, it could block the sites globally, which would extend French jurisdiction worldwide. Quad9 had previously accepted a similar compromise in Germany in 2023 under the threat of a 10,000 euro fine from Sony Music, but it later won an appeal. Quad9 sees this as a temporary measure pending a court decision and evaluates each case individually. The third option is to stop providing service to users it identifies as being in France, a path Cisco took in 2024 by cutting off OpenDNS in France after a blocking order from Canal+. The decision ultimately lies with the Quad9 foundation board, which must balance compliance with French law against its own principles of privacy, security, and internet stability under Swiss law. The Internet Society, a global organization focused on internet governance, has raised concerns about the impact of such blocking orders on smaller or non-profit DNS resolvers. In a report, it warned that these operators could be "excluded from the market" if they cannot afford the costs of implementing each new blocking order. The French Parliament passed legislation in July allowing the automatic blocking of pirate streams during matches, meaning new domains can be added to the list during broadcasts, with oversight only coming afterward. The Paris court is expected to issue its decision by the end of October, after which Quad9 will announce its response. Meanwhile, it is worth noting that downloading movies without the consent of their rights holders is a copyright infringement, punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of 300,000 euros for individuals. Under the graduated response system, the Arcom sends two warnings to subscribers before forwarding the case to prosecutors. Since the Council of State ruled part of the Arcom system illegal in April 2026, a judge must now validate the third warning, while the first two continue to be sent. Additionally, files downloaded via torrents may contain malware, as recently seen. To watch movies legally, users can opt for rental or purchase platforms.