Congressional bill would require VPNs, ISPs and DNS services to block piracy sites
If enacted, it would extend potential blocking orders to VPN and DNS services, not just ISPs.
H.R. 10364, the American Copyright Protection Act of 2026 (ACPA), has been introduced in Congress; it would require internet access providers, DNS resolvers and VPN operators to block access to foreign piracy sites. Under ordinary court orders, providers would have 14 to 30 days to act, but a judge could set a shorter deadline for a time-sensitive event if copyrighted material is leaked within 24 hours of its start. Public networks, root DNS and top-level-domain providers, along with services serving fewer than 100,000 monthly users, would be exempt. How the proposal applies to VPN traffic remains unclear: it offers no clear test for what counts as a US connection or a foreign service, raising questions when traffic passes through VPNs or CDNs. ACPA remains at the introduced stage, with no sponsors, hearings or markup.
Why it matters
People using VPNs or DNS services to reach foreign piracy sites could find those services required to block access too. That change is not in effect: the bill remains at the introduced stage, with no sponsors, hearings or markup.
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