The American Copyright Protection Act (ACPA), introduced by Representative Darrell Issa in September 2026, proposes a new mechanism to block foreign websites that infringe on copyright laws. The bill targets intermediaries, including internet service providers, DNS resolvers, and, in its latest version, VPN services.
Under the proposed legislation, copyright holders can petition a court to designate a site as a foreign pirate resource. If approved, the court issues an order requiring providers to implement commercially reasonable measures to restrict access from the United States within 14 to 30 days.
The bill exempts organizations with fewer than 100,000 monthly users from these blocking requirements. Furthermore, service providers retain the right to challenge their inclusion in such orders if they can demonstrate that blocking is technically unfeasible or ineffective under their specific business models.
The document does not specify technical requirements for how VPN providers should implement these blocks. This lack of clarity allows for varying interpretations, such as blocking access only from US-based servers or restricting users based on their IP addresses, leaving the practical enforcement methods open to debate.
