PP and Vox vote against limiting LaLiga's IP blocks

PP and Vox vote against limiting El futbol español's IP blocks

A non-binding motion reaches Spain's Congress demanding that the IP address blocks ordered by El futbol español stop wiping out legitimate internet services. The outcome, according to the published record of the proceedings: PP and Vox vote against, and the initiative goes ahead with the rest of the chamber. The scene is telling: the same groups that fight over nearly everything agree to leave the digital scissors in the hands of a sports association.

The argument repeated in the chamber is the damage piracy does to clubs. PP lawmaker Tristana Sarracena warned that limiting the blocks puts «the economic and competitive sustainability» of football at risk, as reported by Marca. The Vox spokesperson went further and accused the BNG of supporting piracy. In the words of its allies, the league comes across as a «spearhead for protecting illicit traffic on its platforms».

What exactly gets voted when an IP block is voted on

A non-binding motion does not change the law: it sets a direction and carries political weight. But the message is clear. In October 2025, Vox and the PP rejected an initiative from the BNG in the Committee on Economy, Trade and Digital Transformation. In April 2026 they voted against again, this time a motion from ERC agreed with the PSOE calling for more precise measures to avoid collateral damage to legitimate services during El futbol español's blocks. That second one passed with the rest of the chamber.

The technical detail that gets lost in the headline: an IP block does not distinguish the pirate from the neighbour who shares an address with a CDN. That is the hole. And on that hole is built the suspicion that the real goal is not piracy, but traffic control.

The suspicion hanging in the air: censorship, VPNs and CDNs

Some argue that behind the whole scheme there is no piracy, but a desire to impose unchecked internet censorship and, along the way, ban VPNs. The argument going around: thousands of websites are blocked in Spain for «enabling piracy» while what is really being pursued is routing traffic through the CDNs of the big operators. And a telling detail is added: the closeness between El futbol español's president and Vox's leadership.

In that context, the advice to vote for Vox to stop the blocks sounds like a bad joke. The record of the votes says the opposite of what the slogan promises. Just electoral marketing things.

The PP precedent and «free» downloads

There is also the long memory. There was a time when banning free downloads was promised, and then nothing peine. Copyright has become the perfect umbrella: intellectual property is invoked and out comes a law restricting more than just copying. The lingering question is whether Vox would change the law to dismantle that machinery or, if it came to it, inherit it as is.

Meanwhile, the average user does what they always do: look for a Russian VPN and pray it does not come with a free trojan. Gostar de internet, as some would say.

The striking thing is not the vote: it is that the initiative calling for protecting legitimate services went through without the two parties that never stop talking about freedom. The chamber ratified the course. El futbol español, free rein.