📰 New article from TorrentFreak
Unified U.S. Site Blocking Bill Targets ISPs and DNS Resolvers But Spares VPNs
If you thought the battle against digital piracy was over, think again. Congress is currently playing a high-stakes game of legislative musical chairs with two massive site-blocking bills, and the latest contender has a name that sounds like a superhero: the DEFEND IP Act.
The goal? To give copyright holders the power to get court orders that force internet service providers (ISPs) and DNS resolvers (think Google or Cloudflare) to block “foreign piracy sites.” If a site is flagged for hosting illegal content or live-streaming sports without permission, it could be wiped from the view of millions of Americans with a single stroke of a judge’s pen.
Here’s the interesting twist: unlike previous versions of this legislation, the DEFEND IP Act actually leaves VPNs off the hook—at least for now. The bill explicitly excludes companies that exclusively provide VPN services from being forced to block sites.
However, there’s a catch. Critics argue this isn’t about stopping pirates; it’s about building a censorship infrastructure. They warn that forcing major DNS providers to block sites could lead to “global blocks,” potentially breaking parts of the open internet in the process.
The takeaway: The fight between Hollywood’s protectionism and the internet’s open architecture is heating up, and the clock is ticking.