DEFEND IP Act
Sponsored By: Senator Tillis, Thomas [R-NC]
Introduced
Summary
Creates a two-step court power to identify and curb access to foreign online piracy by allowing courts to label sites as "foreign digital piracy sites" and order U.S. providers to take reasonable measures to block or impede access. This would add a new Section 502A to the Copyright Act and set a structured notice, contest, and amendment process for those orders.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 3 mixed.
Legal protections for internet providers
If enacted, service providers acting in good faith to follow a court order would get broad immunity from lawsuits, even if a designated site is later found to be wrongly identified. Providers would be allowed to temporarily stop following an order when reasonably necessary for maintenance, security, or to fix interference with non-infringing content. The bill would also say it does not change existing liability limits and safe harbors under 17 U.S.C. §512.
Court power to block foreign piracy
If enacted, owners or exclusive licensees of copyrighted works would be able to ask a U.S. district court to designate a foreign website as a "foreign digital piracy site." The operator may appear to contest the petition within 20 days. After designation, a rightsholder could ask the court to order named U.S. service providers to take reasonable measures to stop or hinder U.S. users from accessing the site; providers get 20 days to contest inclusion. A designation would end 360 days after issuance if no provider order is sought; a provider-directed order would end one year after providers begin implementing it unless extended.
Which sites and providers are covered
If enacted, a "foreign online location" would mean a public website operated outside the United States (or whose location can't be determined) identifiable by domain names, IP addresses, or similar identifiers. A covered "service provider" would include a broadband provider or public domain name service with more than $100,000,000 in yearly revenue, and a broadband provider must serve at least 50,000 subscribers. Providers that only offer encrypted DNS, only run VPN-like services, or only provide guest Wi-Fi at a premises would be excluded.
New rules start after 180 days
If enacted, the new Section 502A and related changes would take effect 180 days after the bill becomes law. This would give rights holders, courts, and service providers a fixed transition period to prepare before petitions and provider orders become available.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Tillis, Thomas [R-NC]
NC • R
Cosponsors
Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
DE • D
Sponsored 9/24/2026
Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]
TN • R
Sponsored 9/24/2026
Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA]
CA • D
Sponsored 9/24/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov