America’s creative communities are under siege from massive online piracy. This harms creatives and consumers, alike.
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, piracy costs the U.S. economy as much as $71 billion and 560,000 American jobs every year.
Illegal offshore piracy websites entice users with “free” movies and television shows, then profit from questionable advertising, malware, credit card fraud, and identity theft.
One highly effective tool to curb piracy is judicially ordered “site blocking,” which allows courts to direct service providers to stop providing services for, or access to, these illegal, offshore sites after a full and fair proceeding. For over a decade, site blocking has proven effective in more than 40 COUNTRIES – including democracies such as Australia, Canada, the UK, and the European Union. Yet the United States has yet to adopt this commonsense measure.
More than a decade ago, the U.S. was primed to lead the way with the world’s first site-blocking law. But Silicon Valley famously derailed that effort with a campaign of scare tactics and hyperbole, speciously claiming that allowing for court-ordered site blocking of illegal offshore pirate sites would “break the internet,” chill free speech, turn ordinary internet users into criminals, and destroy democracy.
History has proven these arguments wrong. In every country in which it has been adopted, site blocking has been proven to work, reducing piracy and driving traffic to legitimate sites, without harm to the internet democracy, or free speech!
Over 100,000 Americans have already signed our petition urging lawmakers to take action.Add your name todayandtell Congress: It’s long past due… bring site blocking to America now!
