US Bill on Mandatory Blocking of Pirate Sites via VPN

The American Copyright Protection Act has been introduced in the US Congress, requiring ISPs, DNS services, and VPNs to block access to foreign websites hosting pirated content.

Blocking Mechanism

A court issues a ban order, after which operators have 14 to 30 days to implement blocking measures. This deadline may be shortened for live sports broadcasts or shows.

The law applies to both ISPs and third-party DNS services, including Google DNS, Cloudflare (1.1.1.1), and NextDNS.

Potential Risks

• Exact technical blocking methods are not specified in the text
• ISPs may begin blocking resources preemptively out of fear of liability
• The bill lacks provisions protecting traffic encryption

Currently, the bill has only been introduced in Congress, and hearings have not yet been scheduled.