Apr 13, 2026 12:10:00

ISP blocking implemented to combat copyright infringement has resulted in a large number of unintended consequences, while illegal viewers can bypass it using VPNs.

A post appeared on 'Hacker News,' a website for IT engineers, stating that 'the reason why docker pull failed was due to ISP blocking by a soccer league.'

Tell HN: docker pull fails in spain due to football cloudflare block | Hacker News

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47738883

Infobae
https://www.infobae.com/america/agencias/2026/04/05/laliga-desmiente-que-sus-sistemas-antipirateria-hayan-hecho-fallar-un-dispositivo-de-localizacion-personal/

Docker, which enables containerization so that 'apps can run the same way anywhere,' has grown from a popular tool to an essential tool in development, with its usage exceeding 70% in a Stack Overflow 2025 survey .

Engineer littlecranky67 encountered a problem while developing a Docker image when the 'docker pull' command failed to download. After various debugging attempts, he tried pasting the download link directly into the browser's URL bar instead of using a tool, and received a message stating that 'certain hosts are blocked from accessing the game during soccer matches.'

Spain's professional football league,

La Liga , is taking various measures to stop illegal streaming of matches. In 2024, it won a court order granting ISPs the right to block access based on IP addresses and domains, and began blocking illegal streaming on ISPs in February 2025.

However, La Liga's blocking measures, such as blocking Cloudflare's entire IP address network, resulted in numerous collateral damages.

In Spain, blocking a football piracy site resulted in millions of innocent websites being affected - GIGAZINE

Cloudflare is a massive CDN service used by 67% of the top 1 million websites, so the 'collateral damage' was widespread. Since Docker also uses Cloudflare, that's why littlecranky67 was unable to download the image.

Another comment posted on Hacker News reports that 'smart home devices such as anti-theft alarms and automatic doors that rely on Cloudflare for their backend will not work during football matches,' and there are also reports that 'a GPS tracking device attached to a father with dementia is not working due to La Liga's ISP blocking.' La Liga has denied responsibility in response to the reports, stating that 'there is no technical evidence to explain or demonstrate that ISP blocking is negatively impacting the tracking service.'

Meanwhile, it appears that users who illegally stream content are continuing to watch pirated material using VPNs even after ISPs have blocked it. Furthermore, developers are also being forced to use VPNs.

La Liga is concerned about the continued illegal streaming using VPNs and is exploring ways to prevent VPN loopholes, including filing a petition with the court in February 2026 to obtain a preliminary injunction to block specific IP addresses from NordVPN and Proton VPN.