diff --git a/src/controller/eme-controller.ts b/src/controller/eme-controller.ts
index e35f002a00d..fff0340eca7 100644
--- a/src/controller/eme-controller.ts
+++ b/src/controller/eme-controller.ts
@@ -889,6 +889,9 @@ class EMEController implements ComponentAPI {
 
     return Promise.resolve()
       .then(() => {
+        if (!keysListItem.decryptdata) {
+          throw new Error('Key removed');
+        }
         return licenseXhrSetup.call(
           this.hls,
           xhr,