This blocking order is no longer in effect.

We have been ordered to block certain IP addresses related to streams of certain hockey games

Background

As you may know, in November 2019, the Federal Court of Canada issued an order that required 11 internet service providers including TekSavvy to block access to websites such as GoldTV, which were providing access to copyrighted content without permission.

This was the first site-blocking order of its kind, and TekSavvy challenged this order by appealing it to the Federal Court of Appeal and seeking to appeal it to the Supreme Court of Canada. Unfortunately, TekSavvy’s appeals were not successful, and the order now sets a precedent for site-blocking orders in Canada. For more information on our position on site-blocking and net neutrality, check out our blog here.

Latest Order

On July 7, 2021, Rogers Media Inc., Bell Media Inc, BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., CTV Specialty Television Enterprises Inc., The Sports Network Inc., Le Reseau des Sports (RDS) Inc. and Groupe TVA Inc., (the “Plaintiffs”) asked the Federal Court to issue an order forcing themselves and some other Canadian ISPs to block access to certain IP addresses that the Plaintiffs found were associated with infringing streaming of NHL games.

On May 27, 2022, the Federal Court issued the order in Federal Court File No. T-955-21 (the “Order”). The public version of the Order can be found here.

The Order means that certain ISPs, including TekSavvy, are required to block access to the IP addresses identified by the Plaintiffs during live NHL game windows until the remainder of the 2021-2022 NHL season. The Order is a “dynamic” site-blocking order, which means it allows the Plaintiffs to continuously update the list of IP addresses we are required to block.

Inquiries or Complaints

If you would like to contact the Plaintiffs to report any concerns with the Order, including any complaints or reports of technical issues that the site-blocking may be causing you, you can direct your inquiries to the Plaintiffs and/or their agent:

• The Plaintiffs: T-955-21@proton.me
• The Plaintiffs’ Agent: nhl_ipallocation@friendmts.com

Otherwise, if you have issues that you feel TekSavvy could address, you can feel free to contact us.

Anyone who claims to be affected by the order may also apply to the Court to discharge or vary the Order. This includes any operators of servers who are affected by this order, any Internet service customer affected by the Order or any other third party who claims to be affected by this order.