Is this the beginning of the end for VPNs?

Can you imagine using the internet without having the option to cover your tracks with a VPN? Well, that time might be closer than we think. The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has joined the list of entertainment industry bodies targeting VPN services, blaming them for helping piracy.

This follows a European Commission recommendation in 2023, which invited relevant bodies to respond. It also set a deadline for its own assessment of the recommendation's impact on live event piracy by 17 November 2025, which explains the current flurry of attention on VPNs and their use in piracy.

Why is the MPA blaming VPNs?

Now, the MPA has issued a response, identifying virtual private networks - not just the best VPNs, but all of them — and other intermediaries as facilitators of piracy. If adopted, the MPA's suggestions will affect everyone, whether you use VPNs for gaming or shopping, or you're a hardcore downloader.

In combating piracy over the years, rightsholders have established close relationships with ISPs. This has resulted in piracy sites being blocked, such as the infamous "Pirate Bay." In combating piracy against the movies, music, and gaming industries, ISPs have acted pretty quickly. While there appears to be a whack-a-mole element to dealing with piracy sites (whether direct downloads or torrents), it is far more difficult to find pirated media in 2025 than it was in, say, 2015.

But this seems to be something different. The MPA represents big names in the movie industry, including streamers Disney, Netflix, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Its response (via TorrentFreak) commends the site-blocking orders, but highlights that cooperation with "a broader range of intermediaries" is required to stop them providing "essential services to piracy operators."

Specifically, according to the MPA, these intermediaries include "reverse proxy providers, content delivery networks (CDNs), hosting providers, VPNs, and search engines."

Will VPNs cooperate?

At the time of writing, no VPN services have responded. The MPA sees them as "essential" to enforce court orders, but also more crucially "to identify targets, avoid circumvention, and ensure that blocking remains accurate and proportionate."

When some of the biggest VPNs base their entire marketing strategy and reputation on maintaining user privacy and anonymity, cooperation seems unlikely. But with the increasing noise directed at VPN services, particularly from broadcasters in the European Union, there is a sense that VPNs and the entertainment industry are on a collision course.

Read our best gaming VPN list for some guidance on choosing the right option for your games. Meanwhile, our Minecraft VPN guide offers insights into what they can do for that game in particular.