In an assertive move to combat digital piracy, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) has announced plans to spearhead the introduction of a site-blocking law in the United States. Charles Rivkin, CEO of the MPA, declared this new offensive during CinemaCon 2024 in Las Vegas, underscoring the urgency to evolve the industry’s strategy against the “evolving danger” of piracy. Rivkin clarified the proposed law’s mechanism, allowing copyright owners to request ISPs to block access to piracy websites through judicial intervention. The MPA’s stance is clear: “This approach focuses only on sites featuring stolen materials,” Rivkin stated, emphasizing that there are “no gray areas here.”
The renewed push for a site-blocking law in the U.S. comes as the Federal Communications Commission votes to reinstate net neutrality rules. Consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge warned against the MPA’s intentions, with senior policy counsel Meredith Rose expressing concerns over the potential over-blocking of lawful content and drawing parallels to the notorious Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) which faced major backlash over a decade ago. Rose argued that the infrastructure of the internet has not changed since then and that site-blocking doesn’t work, often leading to the unintended censorship of lawful content.
Rivkin’s CinemaCon address painted a grim picture, associating pirate-site operators with “real-life mobsters” and “organized crime syndicates” involved in heinous activities beyond copyright infringement. This narrative is part of the MPA’s strategy to gain legislative traction, which involves storytelling that underscores the detrimental impact of piracy on the U.S. economy and the threat to personal data security.
Contrasting Public Knowledge’s stance, the MPA points to the success of site-blocking laws in over 40 countries, arguing that these measures have proven effective in reducing traffic to piracy sites and increasing visits to legal alternatives. Karyn Temple, MPA general counsel, attested to the global effectiveness of such laws, stating that predictions of site-blocking’s negative impacts on free expression did not materialize. The MPA also highlights the inadequacy of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in addressing the issue of foreign piracy sites, as demonstrated by incidents such as the misidentification of copyright claims on platforms like YouTube.
Critics like Mitch Stoltz, intellectual property litigation director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, express apprehensions over the potential abuse of site-blocking measures, fearing they could be used to censor lawful speech. Stoltz also advocates for providing content through lawful and user-friendly channels as the solution to reduce infringement.
The impending legislative battle over site-blocking is poised to reignite debates over free speech and digital rights. With the MPA’s powerful storytelling and appeal to protect American jobs and the economy, the association is rallying support in Congress. While its advocates highlight the targeted nature of the proposed law and the due process involved, opponents remain wary, wary of a slippery slope toward overreach and censorship.
Relevant articles:
– Movie industry demands US law requiring ISPs to block piracy websites
– Studios Are Going After Piracy Again, Potentially Reigniting Fight Over Free Speech, Hollywood Reporter, Wed, 10 Apr 2024 19:55:07 GMT
– Blocking Will Stop Pirate Site Owners Who Abuse Kids & Traffick Drugs * TorrentFreak, TorrentFreak, Wed, 10 Apr 2024 17:45:09 GMT