French Court’s Site-Blocking Orders Drive Quad9 Out Of France
Quad9, a privacy-focused DNS resolver, will stop serving users in France on November 24 following a court order requiring it to block access to websites accused of copyright infringement.
The decision marks a significant setback for internet privacy in France. Quad9, incorporated in Switzerland to protect user data from government demands, offers an alternative to ISP-provided DNS resolvers that are vulnerable to censorship and surveillance. The service also blocks known malicious domains, enhancing user security beyond just privacy protection.
In explaining its withdrawal, Quad9 faced an impossible choice: either extend French copyright law globally by blocking websites worldwide or attempt to identify and block only French users—a technically unreliable approach that could result in massive fines for imperfect blocking. The organization currently faces about 20 similar lawsuits in France.
Broader Implications
The court's order does not actually remove any allegedly infringing material from the internet, as Quad9 doesn't host websites. Users can simply switch to another DNS resolver, leaving the targeted content accessible while eliminating a valuable privacy service.
Forcing a responsible privacy service out of an important market is a predictable result of trying to force infrastructure providers to be copyright police.
This case extends beyond France, with U.S. lawmakers considering similar site-blocking proposals. Such measures threaten free speech and online access while creating systems that could be abused by repressive governments to censor globally.
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