U.S. lawmakers are once again pushing for site blocking legislation, this time targeting foreign piracy operations with the Block BEARD Act.
What is Block BEARD?
The Block Bad Electronic Art and Recording Distributors (Block BEARD) Act of 2025 is bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chris Coons (D-DE), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Adam Schiff (D-CA).
This bill would allow copyright owners to seek federal court orders blocking foreign piracy operations.
The legislation creates a legal framework for courts to designate foreign websites as piracy sites and order internet service providers to block access.
Copyright holders must prove specific harm, show reasonable contact attempts with site operators, and confirm operators aren’t U.S.-based.
Summary of Block BEARD Act
What About Domestic Pirate Sites?
This raises a critical question: why focus on foreign sites when domestic piracy operations are still rampant? If U.S. authorities struggle addressing piracy websites within their borders, how can international enforcement prove more effective?
Domestic enforcement presents massive challenges already. Courts face jurisdictional complexities, operators hide behind privacy services, and websites move to new domains when threatened. Foreign enforcement multiplies these difficulties exponentially.
This was one of the exact same issues we saw with lawmakers pushing the ACPA site blocking bill.
US Taxpayer Costs and Priorities
Site blocking endeavors will cost millions in taxpayer dollars for implementation, court proceedings, and enforcement.
Is this optimal public fund usage when infrastructure, public safety, cost of living, education, healthcare, etc. face budget constraints? The bill includes ISP immunity provisions and cost reimbursement, adding more taxpayer burden.
Support from Anti-Piracy Groups
Of course organizations like the Recording Industry Association (RIAA) and Motion Picture Association (MPA) support this legislation.
These organizations know that more site blocking means revenue protection for their partners. The MPA has even been pushing for automated site blocking systems.
The MPA CEO Charles Rivkin commented the following:
“With bold leadership from Senators Tillis, Coons, Blackburn, and Schiff, the Block BEARD Act will equip our nation with a tool that’s worked in dozens of countries worldwide: a narrow, targeted means to fight the worst forms of foreign piracy while protecting free speech and the rule of law.”
Final Thoughts
The Block BEARD Act represents another blocking attempt rather than addressing root causes like pricing and availability.
While intellectual property protection remains important, lawmakers should examine whether targeting foreign sites while ignoring domestic operations represents sound policy.
Taxpayers deserve transparency about enforcement costs and effectiveness. They deserve leaders prioritizing pressing domestic issues over entertainment lobbying.
Perhaps lawmakers and media companies should focus on making legal content accessible rather than building expensive censorship infrastructure.
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For more information on this story refer to the Block BEARD Act (PDF) and the press release from Thom Tillis.
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