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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThe EU Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List does not identify VPN users, ban VPNs, or decide whether an individual’s viewing or downloading is lawful. It is a nonbinding European Commission staff document reporting allegations about selected online services and marketplaces. A VPN does not make unauthorized content lawful—or, by itself, make a user’s conduct illegal.
What the EU Piracy Watch List is
The European Commission published the fourth edition of its Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List in May 2025. It draws on stakeholder contributions and reports selected online service providers and physical marketplaces that are allegedly involved in, facilitate, or benefit from piracy or counterfeiting. The document describes the operators or owners of the reported services and marketplaces as allegedly outside the EU. The 2025 edition also separately covers some online marketplaces and social media platforms expected to take further measures against infringement. European Commission: Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List
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The Commission describes the publication as a Commission Staff Working Document with no legal effect and says it does not commit the Commission. It reports allegations and, where available, responses from named services or marketplaces; the Commission says it takes no position on them. The list is neither exhaustive nor a set of legal findings, and it does not assess compliance with EU rules.
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No. Its subjects are selected services and marketplaces, not people who use VPNs. A service appearing in the document does not establish that every use of that service is unlawful, and it does not create an EU-wide determination about an individual user. Nor does the Watch List prohibit VPN use.
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Keep three questions separate: whether using a VPN is lawful, whether a provider or marketplace has been reported in the Watch List, and whether a particular stream, download, or other use infringes copyright. The document concerns the second question in a limited way. It does not decide the first or third.
Does a VPN make streaming or downloading lawful?
No. A VPN routes a connection through another location and can provide privacy benefits, but it is not a licence to access content. Whether a particular use infringes copyright depends on the content, how it was supplied, the user’s conduct, and the applicable national law. A VPN connection does not prove that a service has rights to offer the content in your territory.
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Eurojust’s 2023 comparative report discusses using a VPN to access a different region’s catalogue. In the example described, that conduct does not lead to criminal liability for the user. This is not a blanket assurance about accessing pirate streams, avoiding civil liability, or complying with a service’s terms. Eurojust also notes that national approaches to criminal copyright enforcement differ, so the same infringing act may have different consequences across Member States. Eurojust: Online piracy and criminal enforcement
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A 2026 Court of Justice of the European Union judgment in Case C-788/24 addresses whether a website’s publication of protected work constitutes communication to the public in a Member State where the site is geo-blocked but accessible using a VPN. That dispute concerns the publisher’s copyright communication and geo-blocking measures; it does not make VPN use itself an infringement or turn the Watch List into a user blacklist. CJEU Case C-788/24
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How to check whether an online offer is authorized
- Check the specific content and territory. Look for clear information about the provider’s rights to offer that title, match, or other content where you are.
- Prefer transparent, lawful offers. A VPN’s privacy or location features say nothing about a provider’s distribution rights.
- Use a legal-content directory when you need a starting point. EUIPO’s Agorateka helps users find legal online content offers, including sports. EUIPO: Agorateka
What the figures in the 2025 Watch List mean
The Commission’s 2025 document reports 10.2 accesses to pirated content per internet user per month in 2023. That is an overall piracy measure, not a count of VPN sessions or VPN users. It also reports a 10% rise in IPTV piracy in 2023 and estimates that 1% of EU internet users subscribed to illegal IPTV services; that percentage is an estimate, not an exact census. European Commission: Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List
Separately, an EUIPO 2024 press release summarized a study estimating 10 accesses to illegal content per EU internet user per month in 2023, with TV accounting for five of those average monthly accesses. This is a distinct published summary; neither figure measures VPN use. EUIPO: Online piracy in the EU remains high
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When the next Watch List is expected
As of 4 October 2026, the Commission’s consultation page for the 2027 edition is marked closed. It gives 21 September 2026 as the contribution deadline and says the next edition is planned for the second quarter of 2027. That is a planned publication date, not a guarantee; the latest published edition linked by the Commission remains the 2025 Watch List. European Commission: 2027 Watch List consultation
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