Bipartisan Bill Would Allow Courts to Compel ISP Blocking of Proven Foreign Piracy Sites

Today, Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chris Coons (D-DE), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced a bipartisan bill titled “Block Bad Electronic Art and Recording Distributors Act of 2025’’(the Block BEARD Act). The proposal is aimed at blocking foreign websites dedicated to piracy from making stolen content available to U.S. users.

Under the Block BEARD Act, copyright owners would be empowered to ask courts to designate foreign online websites as a “foreign digital piracy site.” Rights holders must prove they are the owner or exclusive licensee of the right; that they have been or will be injured by the infringing activity; that they’ve made an effort to provide notice to the operator of the foreign site; and that they’ve made an effort to determine that the site is not located within the United States. Petitioners also must show that the foreign online site is primarily dedicated to infringing activity; has limited commercial purpose beyond infringement; and is intentionally marketed to promote infringement.

Foreign sites will be given the opportunity to respond within 21 days after a petition is filed and an order will not be issued to designate the site as a foreign digital piracy site if the foreign site complies with the court’s requirements. However, if a court does determine a site to be a foreign digital piracy site, “the petitioner that sought the order may petition the same court to issue a subsequent order to direct service providers to take reasonable measures to prevent users in the United States from using the system or network of those service providers to access the foreign digital piracy site.” Internet service providers (ISPs) would be provided immunity from liability for good faith actions.

According to a press release, Tillis said “the Block BEARD Act gives us a smart, targeted tool to stop these criminal operations at the source without infringing on legitimate speech or due process.” And Coons remarked: “Today, the United States takes an important step to join the many other nations around the world that have taken steps to crack down on foreign IP theft.” More than 50 democratic countries have adopted measures similar to those outlined in the bill, added the release.

Today’s announcement also included quotes from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association. Mitch Glazier, Chairman and CEO of the RIAA, noted that “similar tools have been proven effective around the world over the last ten years with no harm to speech, Internet infrastructure or security, or participation online, and we strongly support this effort to create a simple, effective, judicial remedy with due process in the U.S.”

According to an article by Rodrigo Balbontin of the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation published last month, America ranks first in visits to pirate sites among developed countries, “partly because it is one of the few countries in the world that does not authorize blocking injunctions of pirate sites, and its weaker enforcement mechanisms against foreign digital piracy contribute significantly to the massive consumption of what is, in practice, stolen content.”

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