Bipartisan lawmakers introduced the DEFEND IP Act, which would let content owners ask courts to designate foreign piracy sites and then seek an order requiring U.S. internet providers to block access without disrupting lawful content.
To qualify, a site must have no commercially significant purpose or use other than copyright infringement; the designation order could be renewed after 360 days. The bill applies to large-scale foreign sites and covers infringing live-event transmissions from abroad. Unlike SOPA, shelved after a backlash nearly 15 years ago, it leaves blocking methods to providers, calls for reasonable, technically feasible measures, and grants ISPs legal immunity.
Sponsors Zoe Lofgren and Thom Tillis said foreign piracy threatens creators and jobs; Tillis also cited malware and identity-theft risks for consumers. The Common Sense Copyright Coalition, whose members include AT&T, Charter, Comcast, Cox and Verizon, opposed the bill, warning of added broadband-provider duties and legal and operational risks, including threats to lawful content. Its spokesperson cited the Supreme Court’s unanimous March ruling that an ISP is not liable merely for providing a public service knowing some users may use it to infringe copyrights.
