Key facts
- Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) proposed a bill to require ISPs, DNS providers, and VPNs to block foreign piracy websites.
- The bill would help rightsholders obtain judicial blocking orders against foreign piracy sites.
- The proposed system would allow copyright owners to petition courts for orders to block sites deemed 'foreign piracy sites' based on a preponderance of evidence.
- Service providers would have 14 days to object to blocking orders, with judges able to expedite the process for time-sensitive events.
- Opponents argue the bill could lead to broad censorship and disrupt small businesses.
- The Motion Picture Association supports the bill, citing economic losses from piracy.
Representative Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has introduced legislation that would compel internet service providers (ISPs), domain name resolution (DNS) providers, and virtual private networks (VPNs) to block access to foreign websites engaged in piracy. The bill, referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, aims to streamline the process for copyright holders to obtain court orders for site blocking, addressing concerns about the speed of current notice-and-takedown procedures under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Issa stated that current methods are too slow to prevent piracy during live broadcasts and that online piracy can fund criminal networks. The proposed "American Copyright Protection Act of 2026" would allow courts to issue blocking orders to network operators serving at least 100,000 monthly users or subscribers in the U.S. Service providers would typically have 14 days to object, though judges could expedite this for time-sensitive content.
Digital rights advocacy groups, including Public Knowledge and Re:Create, have voiced strong opposition. They argue that the bill would create a broad censorship infrastructure, disrupt legitimate businesses through potential overblocking, and threaten user privacy. Meredith Rose of Public Knowledge noted that such orders could allow a single court decision to block access globally based on expedited procedures, calling them "powerful weapons, ripe for abuse."
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has been actively campaigning for site-blocking legislation in the U.S., citing significant economic losses due to piracy. The MPA has indicated support for Issa's bill and pointed to over fifty countries that already have similar mechanisms. Previous site-blocking proposals have also garnered bipartisan support, with lawmakers like Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) having introduced similar legislation.
Concerns about overblocking and the ineffectiveness of such systems have been raised by various organizations, including the Computer & Communications Industry Association and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. They cite examples from countries like Spain and Italy where legitimate websites have been inadvertently blocked, and criminals have found ways to circumvent restrictions. Researchers from the University of Twente have also noted that Italy's Piracy Shield system has affected hundreds of legitimate websites.