US bill would let courts order ISPs and VPNs to block foreign piracy sites
If passed, the proposal would give copyright holders a new legal tool to cut off access to overseas piracy services beyond DMCA takedowns.
US Representative Darrell Issa has introduced a bill that would let copyright holders get court orders forcing ISPs, DNS providers, and VPNs to block access to foreign piracy sites. The proposal aims to supplement DMCA notice-and-takedown, which Issa says removes millions of infringing listings daily but is too slow for time-sensitive content like live sports. The bill was submitted this week following Issa’s June 30 hearing where he signaled his intention to pursue site-blocking legislation. It fits into a broader, bipartisan push in Congress for site-blocking regimes backed by the Motion Picture Association. Network operators, VPN providers, and platforms dealing with user-generated content may face new legal and technical obligations if such a regime becomes law.
Why it matters
The bill would shift how online piracy is tackled in the US by moving from chasing individual infringing links to cutting off entire foreign sites at the network level. ISPs, DNS providers, and VPN companies could be compelled by court orders to block access, creating new legal and technical duties. For rightsholders, especially sports broadcasters worried about live streams, it offers a faster route than the existing notice-and-takedown process, which Issa argues cannot keep up even as millions of listings are removed every day.