Starting November 24, Quad9 will no longer be able to offer its free cyberprotection service to users located in France.

The French courts yesterday handed down an unfavorable ruling against Quad9 in a major case that undermines the transparency and stability of the internet. This decision in favor of beIN forces Quad9 to block the recursive DNS resolution for a number of domain names for users located in France.

The good news is the court significantly reduced the financial penalty, from €580,000 to €1,000 per day. However, for Quad9, this has never been just a financial issue: it is a matter of principle.

We cannot comply with this ruling over the long term while remaining faithful to our mission to protect your privacy, defend you against cyber threats, and preserve the integrity of the internet. For us, recursive DNS resolution is a neutral and passive service. We categorically refuse to alter or lie to you about the DNS responses you receive in a way that opposes your expectations.

This ruling forces an untenable position upon us. Compliance is technically unfeasible, and implementation directly contradicts our mandate to serve the public. As a result, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw Quad9 services from France as of Tuesday, November 24. We deeply regret that French internet users will be left without an alternative that can adequately protect their cybersecurity while remaining compliant with European privacy law.