Lofgren, Cline, Tillis, Coons, Blackburn, and Schiff Lead Bipartisan Bill to Combat Foreign Digital Piracy
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (CA-18) and Congressman Ben Cline (VA-06) introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation focused on combating foreign digital piracy. The Deterring Extraterritorial Foreign Exploitation of Networks Damaging Intellectual Property (DEFEND IP) Act of 2026 is being led in the Senate by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chris Coons (D-DE), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Adam Schiff (D-CA). Text for this legislation can be found here.
Previous efforts to curb foreign digital piracy failed because they lacked due process, threatened free speech, and provided overly broad enforcement powers that risked harming legitimate websites and the open internet. The DEFEND IP Act instead:
Respects First Amendment rights by requiring every blocking order to go through a U.S. court, requiring clear evidence, due process, and judicial oversight to ensure fair enforcement and prevent censorship.
Allows for feasible tech solutions by not mandating specific technical measures for blocking like past proposals. Instead, it allows service providers to determine the best, least intrusive method(s) to comply with court orders, preserving internet stability and security.
Strictly applies to large-scale, foreign-run piracy sites, ensuring that lawful U.S. platforms, mixed-use sites, and independent creators remain unaffected.
Calls for ongoing monitoring, as judicial orders would be temporary and require detailed evidence showing harm before any issuance or renewal.
- Protects service providers from legal liability for implementing judicial orders and for actions of blocked criminal sites.
“Protecting a free and open internet and standing up for American creators go hand in hand,” said Rep. Lofgren. "Foreign piracy operations exploit a loophole in our law, hurting workers and businesses in California and across the country while putting consumers at risk. I am proud to work across the aisle on this smart, targeted approach to crack down on foreign piracy while protecting Americans’ free speech and access to a free and open internet.”
“Foreign piracy sites steal our Nation’s creative works, exposing creators and consumers to fraud, intellectual property theft, and financial harm,” said Rep. Cline. “The bipartisan, bicameral DEFEND IP Act would give American creators a way to pursue foreign criminals in U.S. courts while protecting free speech and an open internet. By closing this legal gap, we can strengthen IP protections, support American jobs and businesses, and give creators greater tools to defend their work.”
“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,” said Sen. Tillis. “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.”
“Pirating American movies, TV shows, art, and books by foreign websites steals tens of billions of dollars from the U.S. economy each year, costing our creative community hundreds of thousands of jobs,” said Sen. Coons. “This bipartisan, bicameral legislation will give American creators the tools they need to protect their intellectual property rights, while ensuring the internet remains a vibrant forum for free speech.”
“Tennessee’s thriving creative community must be protected from the theft of creative works by foreign criminals,” said Sen. Blackburn. “Foreign piracy operations threaten the American creative industry through phishing, identity theft, and financial fraud, and our DEFEND IP Act would protect creators by allowing them to pursue these criminals in U.S. federal courts.”
“I’m proud to join my colleagues in this effort to protect creators and consumers alike from foreign criminal enterprises seeking to steal our intellectual property and exploit Americans,” said Sen. Schiff. “As Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property and a steadfast advocate for the creative community, I understand that robust protections are essential for innovation and economic growth in the digital age. This commonsense approach will provide the courts with the tools they need to combat foreign piracy operations and help level the playing field for American artists and creators who deserve to be fairly compensated for their work.”
This legislation is endorsed by over a dozen organizations: Motion Picture Association (MPA), Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF), Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL), American Society of Collective Rights Licensing (ASCRL), Association of American Publishers (AAP), Recording Academy, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Songwriters Guild of America (SGA), the Copyright Alliance, Songwriters of North America (SONA), Directors Guild of America (DGA), Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), CreativeFuture, Council for Innovation Promotion (C4IP), Authors Guild, American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), Independent Film and Television Alliance (IFTA).
"We applaud Reps. Lofgren and Cline, and Senators Tillis, Coons, Blackburn, and Schiff for their commitment to protecting the millions of Americans working in the creative industries by introducing this site-blocking legislation,” says CreativeFuture CEO Ruth Vitale. “Our film and television industry employs 2.01 million workers. The industry is composed of more than 162,000 businesses, 93% of which employ fewer than 10 people. Piracy, most of which is coming from territories beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement, threatens to undermine all of this. The overwhelming evidence from almost 60 countries around the world with site-blocking in place proves that these laws shift traffic away from illegal pirate sites toward the legal marketplace. We look forward to seeing a judicial site blocking law enacted here in the U.S.”
"The DEFEND IP Act would help protect American creators from foreign actors who steal and profit from their content,” said ITIF President Daniel Castro. "The legislation provides important due process protections by entrusting website-blocking authority to the courts, while protecting Internet users by leaving the technical implementation of blocking injunctions to qualified experts rather than judges. This calibrated approach balances the need to protect America’s creative industries with the interests of Internet users.”
“The Motion Picture Association commends Representatives Lofgren and Cline and Senators Tillis, Coons, Blackburn and Schiff for introducing the bipartisan, bicameral DEFEND IP Act – a bill to deliver a long-overdue judicial site-blocking framework to the United States,” said Motion Picture Association Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin. "By enacting this legislation, our country can deploy a highly effective tool to protect creators and consumers from overseas digital piracy, all while safeguarding free speech and preserving the open internet. For more than a decade, similar policies have been used to great effect by democratic allies like the United Kingdom and Australia. We look forward to working with Congress and stakeholders to enact this important measure into law.”
“We are grateful to Senators Tillis, Coons, Blackburn, and Schiff and Representatives Lofgren and Cline for their bipartisan, bicameral leadership in crafting the DEFEND IP Act, which empowers US federal courts to protect consumers, rightsholders, and markets from large scale foreign piracy,” said Mitch Glazier, Chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America. “Similar tools have proven effective around the world over the last ten years with no harm to speech, Internet infrastructure or security, or participation online, and we look forward to working with the sponsors to create a simple, effective judicial remedy as this bill moves forward.”
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