Sponsor
Zoe Lofgren
Representative · D-CA
Representative · D-CA
The bill speeds enforcement against foreign live-event piracy and reduces legal risk and some costs for providers, but it grants courts powerful, sometimes ex parte, authority to block foreign sites—creating due-process, privacy, access, and operational-cost risks for users, foreign operators, and network providers.
Copyright owners and exclusive licensees can obtain expedited court orders to block foreign sites that stream or transmit infringing live events, increasing their ability to stop piracy and protect revenue.
Users (including those who use privacy tools) retain greater access to lawful content because court-ordered blocking must minimize collateral harm, prohibit blocking non-infringing material, and bar orders that block VPNs.
ISPs and DNS providers are shielded from liability for harms arising from complying with a court blocking order, reducing legal risk for network operators and related tech workers.
Internet users worldwide and foreign website operators may have nationwide access to foreign-operated websites compelled by U.S. courts, raising due-process and extraterritoriality concerns for immigrants and foreign operators.
Users and small businesses face risk of mistaken or overbroad blocking because courts can issue ex parte orders for imminent live-event transmissions before site operators can contest claims.
ISPs, DNS providers, and ultimately subscribers may incur new operational burdens and costs to implement blocking orders, which could be passed on to customers or increase provider expenses.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes U.S. courts to issue nationwide blocking orders against specified foreign websites or services that likely engage in copyright infringement.
Creates a new federal cause of action allowing U.S. courts to issue nationwide "blocking orders" against access to foreign websites or online services that the court finds likely to be dedicated to or used for infringing copyrighted works. It sets procedures for petitioning a U.S. district court for preliminary and permanent relief, evidentiary and notice requirements, efforts to identify and notify site operators and U.S. service providers, timelines for foreign operators to respond, and limited mechanisms for courts to appoint fact‑finding masters when operators do not appear. The bill is a narrow, substantive change to Title 17 that expands judicial remedies against foreign online piracy by authorizing injunction-like orders that can require U.S. service providers to take steps to block access to specified foreign sites or services that facilitate or stream infringing content.
Official title: To amend title 17, United States Code, to provide for blocking orders relating to specifically identified infringing foreign websites or online services, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 28, 2025 by Zoe Lofgren · Last progress January 28, 2025