Capitol Hill Weighs Competing Anti-Piracy Bills on Site Blocking

After more than a decade of legislative caution following the defeat of SOPA, Congress is once again advancing federal web-blocking legislation to curb offshore copyright infringement.

Two separate measures surfaced within a ten-day span, according to reporting by TorrentFreak. Rep. Darrell Issa introduced the American Copyright Protection Act, a proposal that empowers federal courts to require internet service providers, DNS resolvers, and virtual private network operators to cut off access to overseas pirate platforms.

Running parallel is the DEFEND IP Act, a bicameral initiative backed in the House by Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Ben Cline, alongside Senate sponsors Thom Tillis, Chris Coons, Marsha Blackburn, and Adam Schiff. As TorrentFreak reported, this draft consolidates Lofgren's earlier FADPA proposal with the Senate's Block BEARD framework into a unified legislative effort.

Both bills limit their scope to foreign-operated websites and grant service providers leeway regarding technical implementation. The key dividing line centers on intermediary scope, specifically which types of network infrastructure face statutory orders and how VPN liability is handled under federal law.

The legislative push signals that rights holders are regaining ground on digital enforcement after years of political paralysis. As Hollywood Tomorrow notes, major studios have long argued that overseas infringement drains box office and streaming value, yet navigating the friction between rights enforcement and tech platform liability remains the critical hurdle.