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The bill gives copyright holders faster, time-limited court tools and liability protection for compliant intermediaries to stop foreign online infringement, but increases risks of overblocking, due-process concerns for foreign operators, and operational costs for network providers that could be borne by users or taxpayers.
Copyright owners and exclusive licensees can obtain expedited court orders to block foreign websites from streaming or distributing infringing works, including imminent live events, giving rights-holders a faster tool to prevent online piracy.
Service providers that follow a court blocking order receive explicit immunity from liability for harms resulting from implementing the order, reducing legal risk for intermediaries that comply.
Blocking orders are time-limited (generally up to 12 months, and 48 hours for a single live event), which creates predictable expiration limits for measures that restrict access to targeted online resources.
Internet users and operators of unrelated or lawful sites may have lawful content or third-party sites overblocked, reducing users' access to legitimate material and raising censorship risks.
Operators of foreign websites face procedures (including ex parte filings and orders when they do not appear) that create real due-process and fairness concerns because decisions may rely primarily on petitioner-supplied public information.
Broadband providers, DNS operators, and other intermediaries may incur operational costs and technical burdens to implement blocking measures, costs that could be passed on to customers or taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a new federal procedure for copyright holders to seek preliminary blocking orders against identified foreign websites or online services likely infringing their works.
Introduced January 28, 2025 by Zoe Lofgren · Last progress January 28, 2025
Creates a new federal cause of action that lets a U.S. copyright holder ask a U.S. district court for a preliminary blocking order against a specifically identified foreign website or online service that is transmitting copyrighted works and likely causing irreparable harm. The provision sets out procedural prerequisites for such petitions (identifying the site, service of process, certification that the operator is outside the U.S. or unlocatable, and attestation that the site is primarily designed for infringement or lacks a commercially significant noninfringing use), a 30‑day window for the foreign operator to appear, and a rule allowing appointment of a master to review publicly available evidence if the operator fails to appear. The supplied excerpt is incomplete and contains no implementing definitions, agency assignments, funding, monetary penalties, deadlines beyond the 30‑day appearance period, or other enforcement details. Key questions about service provider responsibilities, technical means of blocking, and due‑process protections are not addressed in the text provided.