The .cat domain will monitor potential unjustified blocks during LaLiga matches

Legitimate .cat domains affected by anti-piracy measures

In recent weeks, several .cat domain holders have been affected by unjustified access restrictions during LaLiga football match broadcasts. These issues have occurred even though the domains in question have no relation to sports broadcasting and are used for other legitimate purposes.

LaLiga steps up measures against illegal streaming

These restrictions have been an unintended consequence of LaLiga’s intensified crackdown on audiovisual piracy. In February 2025, LaLiga managed to block several platforms that were drawing more than 400,000 monthly users within Spain.

The operators of these pirate platforms, to prevent the legal owners of the rights from interrupting their streams, used services like Cloudflare—a tool widely used by many other websites for various purposes unrelated to piracy.

In March 2025, Barcelona’s Commercial Court No. 6 upheld LaLiga’s actions, rejecting appeals filed by Cloudflare and other companies affected by the anti-piracy measures. This ruling validated the preventive blocking of IP addresses involved in the distribution of illegal content.

Real-time monitoring of .cat impact

To protect legitimate domains, the .cat registry has immediately launched preventive measures. Following a detailed technical audit with experts, it was found that 2,294 .cat domains currently use Cloudflare as a proxy to ensure the security and performance of their websites.

Considering this, a real-time monitoring system has been set up for upcoming LaLiga broadcasts. The main goal is to instantly detect any incidents affecting .cat domain users, gather accurate data, and prepare a fast and effective response.

With this initiative, the .cat Foundation reinforces its commitment to offering a service of the highest quality, safety, and transparency for all .cat users, while ensuring an open and accessible internet for the Catalan-speaking community.