'VPNs are lawful technical tools,' says EU Court in landmark copyright ruling

The Court of Justice of the European Union has officially categorized Virtual Private Networks as lawful technical tools in a landmark copyright ruling. The court said VPN providers are not liable for copyright infringement when users bypass geo-blocking measures. The judgment stems from a case involving the online publication of Anne Frank's manuscripts, where publishers used geo-blocking to restrict access from Dutch IP addresses. The court ruled that copyright holders cannot claim a website's security measures are ineffective simply because users employ VPNs to circumvent restrictions. The decision validates that using a VPN to encrypt traffic or hide IP addresses is a legitimate use of consumer technology. VPN providers are shielded from liability in piracy lawsuits, with the legal burden placed on publishers to maintain state-of-the-art digital fences.