US Site Blocking Legislation Could Be Attached to Omnibus Bill – TorrentFreak
15 hours ago
- #Copyright Law
- #Site Blocking
- #Internet Regulation
- The Supreme Court reversed a billion-dollar piracy liability verdict against Cox Communications, ruling ISPs aren't liable for subscriber piracy unless they actively induce infringement.
- The decision is a setback for rightsholders and gives urgency to site-blocking legislative efforts, with bipartisan bills being merged by Senator Tillis and Representative Lofgren.
- Proposed legislation is expected to require ISPs and large DNS resolvers (like Google and Cloudflare) to block foreign pirate sites, broadening the scope of site-blocking.
- Rightsholder groups support the bills, while tech companies and consumer advocates have concerns, though public debate is quieter compared to past SOPA protests.
- Representative Issa has a separate proposal (ACPA) with a different judicial process and includes compensation for overblocking errors by copyright owners.
- The timeline for the merged bill is uncertain but must advance before Senator Tillis's term ends in January 2027, possibly as standalone legislation or attached to a spending bill.