Congress Should Protect the Rights of American Creators with Site-Blocking Legislation

Large-scale piracy websites violate the copyrights of American creators and threaten the continued growth of the creative industries. The 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act is ineffective in stopping this scourge, as its protections are limited to obsolete technologies and it does not apply to piracy websites based in foreign countries. Congress should protect the rights of American creators on the 21st-century internet by enacting site-blocking legislation. Many U.S. allies already have site-blocking laws. A decade of studies and data from the operation of these site-blocking laws have proven these laws work without chilling speech or “breaking the internet.” Site-blocking laws are a proven, effective mechanism in protecting copyrights and promoting legitimate online commercial services.