Tillis-Led Bill Would Allow Courts To Block Foreign Piracy Websites

WASHINGTON, D.C. – North Carolina U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis is among a bipartisan group of lawmakers backing legislation that would give federal courts authority to order internet service providers to block certain foreign websites accused of large-scale copyright piracy.

Tillis, a Republican who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, introduced the Deterring Extraterritorial Foreign Exploitation of Networks Damaging Intellectual Property Act, or DEFEND IP Act, on Thursday with Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California.

Companion legislation was introduced in the U.S. House by Reps. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, and Ben Cline, a Virginia Republican.

The legislation is aimed at foreign-operated websites whose primary purpose is distributing copyrighted movies, television programs, music, books and other material without authorization.

Under the proposal, copyright owners could seek a federal court order directing internet service providers to block access to specifically identified foreign piracy sites. The bill would require a showing of harm and continuing monitoring and would provide protections for legitimate websites and lawful speech, according to the legislation’s sponsors.

“Foreign piracy continues to threaten American creators, putting well-paying jobs at risk, while exposing consumers to malware, identity theft, and other serious online harms,” Tillis said. “The DEFEND IP Act provides a targeted, commonsense tool to shut down these foreign, criminal operations at the source while protecting lawful speech and due process. I’m proud to lead this bipartisan effort to safeguard America’s creative economy and strengthen digital security, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to counter these threats.”

The proposal grew out of the Block BEARD Act, released as a discussion draft in 2025, which also sought to establish a federal process for blocking access to foreign piracy websites.

Supporters include the Motion Picture Association, Recording Industry Association of America, Recording Academy, Authors Guild, Copyright Alliance, Directors Guild of America, SAG-AFTRA and several other entertainment, publishing and intellectual property organizations.

Supporters argue that existing U.S. law provides limited options when operators of piracy websites are located outside the country and beyond the practical reach of American courts.

The Motion Picture Association said similar site-blocking systems have been used in countries including the United Kingdom and Australia and contends that court-supervised blocking can be used while preserving lawful internet access.

The proposal also has critics.

Public Knowledge, a digital rights advocacy organization, announced its opposition Thursday, arguing that site-blocking orders could affect legitimate websites and impose costs on internet providers and businesses that are mistakenly caught in a blocking order. The organization also raised concerns about applying orders to domain-name-system providers and the process available to businesses seeking relief from an improper block.

Those concerns mirror a long-running debate in Congress over whether website-blocking tools can effectively combat overseas piracy without interfering with lawful online content.

The DEFEND IP Act has been introduced in both chambers but would still have to move through the congressional committee process and win approval from the House and Senate before it could become law.