Internet Blocking in Spain: Why Websites Stop Loading on Mallorca

What is behind the IP blocks, whether Starlink is affected, and how to protect your network

What is happening in Spain?

Since February 2025, Spanish internet providers (Movistar, Vodafone, Orange, Digi) have been blocking thousands of IP addresses every weekend on behalf of LaLiga and its broadcast partner Telefónica. The aim is to stop illegal football streams.

The problem: LaLiga doesn’t block individual domains, but entire IP addresses. Modern internet infrastructure, however, works in such a way that thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of websites share a single IP address, especially with large providers such as Cloudflare, Vercel or GitHub Pages.

⚠️ Collateral damage documented

Over 13,500 legitimate websites have already been blocked by mistake, including ChatGPT, Instagram, LinkedIn, Microsoft services, Google Fonts, banking apps, government websites and even the sites of some LaLiga clubs themselves. Many .es, .cat and .eus domains of small and medium-sized businesses are also affected.

The blocks occur mainly on LaLiga match days, typically on weekends and on selected weekdays during live broadcasts.

Timeline of events

• December 2024 A commercial court in Barcelona authorizes LaLiga to require Spanish ISPs to block IPs.
• February 2025 First massive overblocking incidents. Around 3,000 IP addresses are blocked every weekend. Google Fonts, payment platforms and institutional sites are affected.
• March 2025 The Barcelona court rejects all objections, with no appeal possible. Cloudflare files a constitutional complaint.
• October 2025 The Spanish parliament rejects a bill to restrict dynamic IP blocking.
• February 2026 LaLiga wins a court order against NordVPN and ProtonVPN: VPN providers must block IP addresses. The providers were not heard beforehand. LaLiga accidentally blocks the US government portal freedom.gov.
• April 2026 Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince is summoned before a Madrid court. Cloudflare publicly warns that overblocking is a systemic flaw.

Who is affected?

As an end user, you are affected if you get online through a Spanish ISP (Movistar, Vodafone, Orange, Digi, MásMóvil). Websites that use Cloudflare, Vercel, BunnyCDN or similar CDN services can be unreachable on match days, without warning and without an error message.

As a website operator, you can lose Spanish visitors if your website runs through an affected CDN service. This is especially critical for businesses on Mallorca that offer their services to local and international customers.

Is Starlink affected?

ℹ️ Short answer

Starlink, as an internet provider licensed in Spain, is in principle bound by Spanish law. So far, however, the specific court orders name the large Spanish ISPs (Movistar, Vodafone, Orange, Digi). Starlink users are therefore currently less affected, but that can change at any time if LaLiga extends the circle of obligated providers.

Regardless of that, Starlink can run into restrictions if DNS requests go through Spanish DNS servers that implement the LaLiga blocklists. That’s why we recommend the protective measures below for Starlink users as well.

Frequently asked questions

Why doesn’t my website load on weekends even though it works during the week?

The IP blocks are activated dynamically, only on LaLiga match days. If your website shares an IP address with a blocked service (for example via Cloudflare), it is only unreachable during those time windows.

Am I doing something illegal as a regular user if I get around the blocks?

Using alternative DNS servers or a VPN is legal in Spain. What is illegal is watching unlicensed streams, not using network tools. You have the right to access legal content, even if it is wrongly blocked.

Why are entire IP addresses blocked instead of individual domains?

Technically, targeted blocking via SNI filtering would be possible, where only the specific domain is blocked. The Spanish ISPs, however, rely on the simpler but much cruder IP blocking. Cloudflare criticizes this approach as disproportionate.

Does this also affect my smart home or IoT devices?

Yes, potentially. If your Home Assistant installation, cloud services or IoT platforms use servers that sit behind blocked IP addresses, those can fail too. Cloud-based smart home services are particularly vulnerable.

Are other countries affected too?

Italy has a similar system with its “Piracy Shield”, which has also caused massive overblocking problems (Google Drive was temporarily blocked). Belgium, Denmark and France are also tightening their anti-piracy laws. Spain, however, is currently the most affected country in Europe.

Solutions for residents and businesses

🔒

VPN tunnel

Route all of your traffic through a VPN server outside Spain (e.g. in Germany). That reliably gets you around all Spanish IP blocks.

Very effective

🌐

Change your DNS servers

Use alternative DNS servers such as Quad9 (9.9.9.9), Cloudflare DNS (1.1.1.1) or Google DNS (8.8.8.8) in your router. Helps against DNS-based blocks.

Partially effective

🔐

DNS over HTTPS (DoH)

Encrypts DNS requests so your ISP can’t tamper with them. Configurable in most modern browsers and on UniFi routers.

Partially effective

📡

Use Starlink

Starlink is currently not named in the court orders and is therefore less affected than traditional Spanish ISPs. Not a cure-all, but an advantage.

Currently advantageous

✅ JumpIT recommendation

The safest combination for residents on Mallorca: Starlink in bridge mode behind a UniFi router with its own DNS server and a WireGuard VPN tunnel to Germany. That way you’re protected against all current and future blocking mechanisms.

What businesses with their own website should do

If you run a business on Mallorca and your website uses Cloudflare, you should check whether Spanish customers can reach your site on match days. The following options are available:

• Cloudflare “DNS only” mode: Disable the Cloudflare proxy (orange cloud → grey cloud). Your website then uses your own server IP directly and isn’t blocked along with the rest. Downside: you lose CDN caching and DDoS protection.
• Dedicated IP address: With a Cloudflare Enterprise plan you get your own IP that isn’t shared with other domains. Expensive, but reliable.
• Alternative CDN providers: Look at providers that are not currently on the LaLiga blocklists. Keep in mind, though, that the situation can change at any time.
• Set up monitoring: Monitor your website’s reachability from Spain, especially on weekends. Tools such as UptimeRobot or Pingdom with Spanish check points can help.