A newly introduced federal bill in the United States House of Representatives aims to mandate that internet service providers, domain name resolution services, and virtual private network providers block foreign websites accused of hosting pirated content. Introduced by Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet, H.R. 10364, known as the American Copyright Protection Act (ACPA), would grant copyright owners a fast-track judicial mechanism to request blocking orders against foreign digital platforms.

US Anti Piracy Bill VPN ISP Blocking: Requirements and Scope

Under the proposed American Copyright Protection Act, copyright holders can petition a U.S. district court to declare a non-U.S. web domain or online service a foreign piracy site based on a preponderance of evidence. If the federal court issues the declaration, rights holders can secure injunctions requiring intermediary network operators to block access to those locations for traffic originating within the United States. The text explicitly lists broadband internet service providers, public domain name resolution services, and virtual private network (VPN) providers as covered entities required to comply with judicial enforcement.

The legislation represents one of the most substantial legal pushes toward federal web filtering in over a decade. While past efforts focused primarily on internet service providers and domain name system (DNS) registries, the ACPA broadens its scope by targeting commercial encrypted tunneling services. Providers that handle internet infrastructure will be tasked with executing blocking measures that prevent domestic users from resolving or routing traffic to blacklisted foreign domains.

American Copyright Protection Act Mandates Foreign Web Blocking

The core objective of H.R. 10364 is to establish a legal avenue against international platforms operating outside the direct jurisdiction of American law enforcement. Rights holders in the film, music, software, and publishing industries have long argued that rogue offshore sites siphon billions of dollars from creators while hiding behind foreign hosts and registrars beyond the reach of standard U.S. subpoenas.

"Every day, Americans produce unique and original work that are enjoyed around the world, and just as often, foreign piracy steals their content and profits from it, all beyond reach of current our law," Representative Darrell Issa said in a statement accompanying the bill's introduction. "The American Copyright Protection Act establishes the tools to fight back, ensure due process, and safeguard legitimate online services."

Industry trade groups, including the Motion Picture Association (MPA), have strongly endorsed the bill. The MPA highlighted that similar court-ordered site-blocking frameworks are already actively utilized across dozens of democratic nations, including member states of the European Union, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

Requirements for VPN Providers, ISPs, and DNS Services

For standard internet service providers and public DNS resolvers, implementing blocking orders typically involves filtering domain name lookups or blocking specific IP addresses associated with blacklisted domains. However, including commercial VPN providers introduces technical complexities. Because VPNs encrypt user traffic and route it through intermediate nodes, enforcing geographic blocks requires providers to filter traffic based on the user's estimated physical origin or account location.

The bill mandates that covered intermediaries take "commercially reasonable steps" to restrict access to target websites once served with a federal court order. While the text does not mandate specific technical mechanisms, service providers must ensure that domestic connections cannot reach the identified foreign piracy domains.

Enforcement Timelines and Exemptions for Small Providers

The ACPA sets a standard 14 to 30 day window for service providers to object to or comply with a standard court blocking order. However, the bill creates an expedited framework for time-sensitive content, such as live sports broadcasts or major entertainment releases leaked within 24 hours of debut. In such cases, federal judges can issue short-notice injunctions requiring near-immediate blocking action to prevent real-time distribution.

To reduce regulatory strain on small entities and public spaces, the bill includes specific statutory thresholds:

  • Subscriber Threshold: The blocking requirements apply only to ISPs, DNS resolvers, and VPN services with at least 100,000 monthly active users or subscribers in the United States.
  • Small Business Exemptions: Independent service providers falling below the 100,000-user mark are exempt from automated compliance obligations.
  • Public Network Exemption: Local Wi-Fi providers at universities, coffee shops, libraries, and airports are not classified as covered service providers under the proposed rules.
  • Core Infrastructure Protection: Root nameserver operators and top-level domain (TLD) registries are excluded to protect global internet stability.

Industry Concerns Over Privacy, Over-Blocking, and Encryption

Despite statutory carve-outs, digital privacy organizations and internet rights advocates have expressed deep reservations regarding the bill's technical implications. Civil liberties groups argue that compelling VPN providers to maintain active blocklists undermines the core architecture of user privacy and end-to-end security protocols.

Opponents also caution that IP and domain-level blocking mechanisms often cause collateral damage by inadvertently taking down legitimate websites hosted on shared server infrastructure. Tech policy experts point to instances in European jurisdictions where broad domain blocking orders temporarily disrupted access to payment processors, healthcare systems, and educational tools.

Additionally, cybersecurity analysts note that the 100,000-subscriber threshold could disproportionately impact reputable, audited privacy services while driving users toward unregulated offshore providers or free VPN applications. Consumers seeking ways to safeguard their digital security, such as deploying privacy measures like Windscribe deGDID for Windows 11 tracking or avoiding online security traps like fake websites impersonating popular Windows apps, may find themselves navigating a fragmented online ecosystem.

The expansion of web filtering regimes comes alongside broader corporate efforts to control digital environments, seen in recent steps such as Microsoft Teams blocking external meeting bots to prevent unauthorized data collection, or platform updates where Microsoft phases out SMS authentication in favor of passkey hardware defaults.

As the American Copyright Protection Act moves to the House Committee on the Judiciary, lawmakers are expected to debate balancing the intellectual property rights of American creators against the fundamental operational principles of an open internet. The fate of the bill will heavily depend on whether Congress determines that judicial oversight provides sufficient safeguard against overreach.