![\"congress\"](\"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/congress-3-600x446.jpg\")
Blocking foreign pirate sites at the ISP level has been off the table in the United States since the SOPA bill was shelved in 2012. <\/p>\nBlocking foreign pirate sites at the ISP level has been off the table in the United States since the SOPA bill was shelved in 2012. <\/p>\n
That changed in January last year, when Rep. Zoe Lofgren introduced the Foreign Anti-Digital Piracy Act<\/a> (FADPA).<\/p>\n This proposal set the blocking wheels in motion and a last summer, Senators launched the Block BEARD<\/a> draft. Meanwhile, Rep. Darrell Issa<\/a>, who chairs the House IP subcommittee, continued working on a draft<\/a> of his own blocking bill, the American Copyright Protection Act (ACPA).<\/p>\n Issa\u2019s bill was being discussed among stakeholders but was not formally introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, until now<\/a>.<\/p>\n Congressional records show that Issa introduced H.R. 10364, describing it as a bill \u201cto establish procedures for blocking access to foreign online locations engaged in copyright piracy, and for other purposes.\u201d There is no name listed, but Issa previously used the \u201cAmerican Copyright Protection Act\u201d title. <\/p>\n At the time of writing, the text is not online yet. Congress.gov notes that the Government Publishing Office has not yet received it, and Issa\u2019s office has not issued a press release. TorrentFreak contacted Issa\u2019s office for a comment and a copy of the text, but we didn\u2019t immediately hear back.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n That leaves the 2025 discussion draft, of which we had previously reviewed a copy<\/a>, as the best indication of what the bill might be. That blocking framework would let copyright holders obtain court orders, requiring both ISPs and DNS resolvers to block foreign pirate sites.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Unlike the other blocking proposals, Issa\u2019s early draft stipulated that the Judicial Conference would maintain a roster of designated judges to hear all blocking cases, while the Copyright Office would publish a list of active orders.<\/p>\n Issa\u2019s proposal also uniquely targeted overblocking. The draft included a provision stating that a third party whose site was wrongly blocked as the result of a rightsholder\u2019s error could claim up to $250,000 in compensation.<\/p>\n Whether any of these provisions have made it into the recently introduced bill is unknown, we will update this article when the text becomes available.<\/p>\n The bill doesn\u2019t come as a surprise. On June 30, Issa told The Capitol Forum that his intention was<\/a> \u201cto introduce it this week before we go on this district work period.\u201d That never happened, however. <\/p>\n Notably, Issa is retiring at the end of this term, which leaves a few months to get anything through the House. While that is not impossible, the bill does face some competition on the Hill. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n There are currently three separate site blocking efforts in the US. Earlier this year, TorrentFreak reported<\/a> that Senator Thom Tillis and Rep. Lofgren were merging FADPA and Block BEARD into a single bicameral bill covering both ISPs and large DNS resolvers.<\/p>\n Lofgren later confirmed she was negotiating a \u201cfour corners agreement<\/a>\u201d with Issa and Senators Blackburn, Coons, Schiff and Tillis.<\/p>\n A source previously described the two efforts as separate, uncoordinated tracks. Whether that changed since is unknown. If ACPA is the House half of a consensus deal, Lofgren\u2019s name should appear among the cosponsors. If not, the House has two blocking bills, with the Senate version as the third.<\/p>\n Interestingly, opposition already responded to the bill\u2019s introduction before the text is published online. Specifically, Public Knowledge<\/a> warns that the bill turns broadband providers into copyright police.<\/p>\n \u201cMore importantly, applying blocking orders to global DNS resolvers causes global blocks. This means that one court can cut off access to a website globally, based on a single individual\u2019s filing and an expedited procedure,\u201d says Meredith Rose, Senior Policy Counsel at Public Knowledge.<\/p>\n \u201cSmall businesses and nonprofits face the greatest risks for site blocking but have the fewest protections. In Europe, we\u2019ve seen overblocking bring down digital infrastructure for hotels, car mechanics, retail shops, telehealth programs, and even a nunnery.\u201d<\/p>\n Rightsholders have been quieter. The MPA, which gave Issa its Industry Champion Award last year<\/a>, had not issued a statement when this article was published. We asked the group for a comment but it did not immediately reply.<\/p>\n \u2014<\/em><\/p>\n Breaking story, updates may follow.<\/p>\n From: TF<\/a>, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.<\/p>\nA Site Blocking Bill Without Text<\/h2>\n
![\"text\"](\"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/text.png\")
<\/center><\/p>\n![\"ACPA\"](\"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ACPA.jpg\")
<\/center><\/p>\nCompeting Site Blocking Bills<\/h2>\n
![\"block\"](\"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/blockbill.png\")
<\/center><\/p>\nOpposition<\/h2>\n