New House Bill Would Force ISPs, DNS Providers, and VPNs to Block Foreign Piracy Sites

A Republican lawmaker has introduced legislation that would create a court-ordered site-blocking regime in the United States, requiring a broad range of network operators to cut off access to overseas websites accused of distributing pirated content.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) filed the measure this week after signaling his intentions during a June 30 congressional hearing. Under the proposal, copyright holders could obtain judicial orders and serve them to internet service providers, domain name system (DNS) resolvers, and virtual private network (VPN) operators, who would then be obligated to block the flagged foreign domains.

A Long-Sought Policy Returns to Congress

Site-blocking mandates of this kind have been a priority for the Motion Picture Association, and Issa is only the most recent in a line of lawmakers from both parties to advance versions of the idea. The approach echoes regimes already in place in countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, though US efforts have historically stalled over concerns about free expression and the technical burden placed on intermediaries.

At the June hearing, Issa framed the bill as a response to the limits of the DMCA’s notice-and-takedown system, under which he noted millions of infringing listings are removed daily. He questioned whether takedowns could move quickly enough to matter for live events, asking whether enforcement could arrive “soon enough” to make piracy of a live sports broadcast unprofitable for operators of illicit streams.

Issa is retiring from the House at the end of this year, which gives the bill a compressed legislative window. Advocates of site-blocking will need to build momentum quickly if the measure is to advance before the current session ends.

Industry Implications

If enacted, the bill would place new compliance obligations on ISPs, DNS resolvers, and VPN services — categories that include large segments of the technology sector. Infrastructure and software firms, such as Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ), which operates payment ecosystems through its Square and Cash App segments and trades with a market capitalization of roughly $46.3 billion, sit in the broader digital ecosystem that site-blocking debates often touch, though Block itself is not named in the legislation. Streaming platforms, broadband providers, and VPN vendors would be the most directly affected if blocking orders become routine.

Civil liberties groups have historically opposed similar proposals, arguing that network-level blocking risks over-blocking lawful content and entrenches censorship infrastructure. No committee action or companion Senate bill has been announced.

What to watch

• Whether the bill receives a committee hearing or markup before the end of the current House session.
• Any companion legislation introduced in the Senate.
• Statements from the Motion Picture Association and broadband or VPN industry groups on the measure.
• Issa’s legislative calendar ahead of his retirement at year’s end.

Source: original release