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Legal measures to block websites are always a bad idea: a look back at 2025.

Public Sector Public Authority IP Address
Dec 30, 2025
Summary

This year, we opposed the resurgence of a terrible idea that has not improved with time: laws that would allow for the blocking of websites. More than a decade ago, the U.S. Congress attempted to pass the SOPA and PIPA laws – two sweeping bills that would have empowered the government and copyright holders to quickly shut down entire websites based on allegations of copyright infringement. The reaction was immense. Internet users, free speech advocates, and technology companies overwhelmed lawmakers with protests, culminating in an "internet blackout" on January 18, 2012.

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Full text

This year, we have seen a resurgence of a terrible idea that has not improved with age: laws that would allow for the blocking of websites. More than a decade ago, the U.S. Congress attempted to pass the SOPA and PIPA laws, two sweeping bills that would have allowed the government and copyright holders to quickly shut down entire websites based on accusations of piracy. The reaction was massive. Internet users, free speech advocates, and technology companies flooded lawmakers with protests, culminating in an "internet blackout" on January 18, 2012. It became clear that Americans did not appreciate the government maintaining lists of websites to be blocked. The bills were eventually halted. However, we never believed that they had disappeared for good. The large media and entertainment companies that supported website blocking in the U.S. in 2012 are now working to promote laws that would allow for website blocking in other countries. Copyright holders continue to petition U.S. courts for orders to block websites, often succeeding without any new legislation. And indeed, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and its allies have asked Congress to...

This content has been automatically translated using machine translation. The original version is available in the source language.

This content was automatically translated using machine translation. The original version is available in the source language.

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