From Ars Technica · · 2m
New bill would force ISPs to block piracy sites
Republican lawmaker proposes sweeping site-blocking powers that critics say could censor the internet and harm small businesses.
In brief
Republican lawmaker proposes sweeping site-blocking powers that critics say could censor the internet and harm small businesses. A new bill would let courts order ISPs, DNS providers, and VPNs to block foreign piracy websites, but critics warn it could cause widespread collateral damage to legitimate sites and…
Issa proposes piracy site blocking
Republican Rep. Darrell Issa introduced a bill requiring ISPs, DNS providers, and VPNs to block foreign piracy websites through court orders. The Motion Picture Association has been pushing for this power for years.
Speed matters for live sports
Issa argued that current takedown processes are too slow to stop piracy during live sports broadcasts. He asked if blocking could happen "at the speed of light" to prevent pirates from profiting.
“Can we do it at the speed of light? More importantly, in a 45-minute or sometimes a fraction of that live sports broadcast, can we do it soon enough?”
Issa links piracy to terrorism
The congressman claimed online piracy helps fund terrorist groups and criminal networks, framing the bill as a national security measure alongside copyright protection.
Critics call it censorship
Public Knowledge and other advocacy groups say the bill would create a sweeping censorship infrastructure. They argue it attacks symptoms rather than prosecuting the people running overseas piracy operations.
“Rather than attacking the problem at its source by bringing the people running overseas piracy websites to court, Congress and its entertainment industry allies have decided to build out a sweeping infrastructure for censorship.”
How the blocking would work
Courts would declare a site a "foreign piracy site" based on evidence, then order network operators to block it. Providers would have 14 days to object, but judges could speed up the process for live content.
DNS blocking could cut off globally
Applying blocking orders to DNS resolvers means one court could make a website inaccessible worldwide based on a single person's filing. This power is "ripe for abuse," critics warn.
“Blocking orders are incredibly powerful weapons, ripe for abuse, and we've seen the messy consequences of them being implemented in other countries.”
Bipartisan push for site blocking
Both Democrats and Republicans have proposed similar bills. The Motion Picture Association says over 50 countries already have site-blocking and the US is losing billions in revenue without it.
Europe's blocking caused chaos
Spain's system knocked out payment processors and a healthcare provider. Italy's Piracy Shield affected hundreds of legitimate websites. Cloudflare is fighting an Italian fine for refusing to comply.
Small businesses face biggest risk
Hotels, car mechanics, retail shops, and nonprofits have been caught in European blocking orders with no way to recover lost business. Public Knowledge warns American small businesses could become "acceptable collateral damage."
“In Europe, we've seen overblocking bring down digital infrastructure for hotels, car mechanics, retail shops, telehealth programs, and even a nunnery.”
Overblocking is unsolved problem
A coalition of tech groups warned that site-blocking systems don't work as promised. Criminals find ways around them while legitimate sites get wrongly blocked, making the approach unreliable.
“The idea that site blocking is a 'solved problem,' politically or technologically, is a myth.”
In short
A new bill would let courts order ISPs, DNS providers, and VPNs to block foreign piracy websites, but critics warn it could cause widespread collateral damage to legitimate sites and services.
