REPORT
OVERSEAS AND OUT OF REACH
International Video Piracy and U.S. Options to Combat It
The United States faces a problem. Overseas criminals targeting Americans often live in countries that won’t prosecute them or lack adequate legal tools to do so – leaving them beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement and secure in the notion they won't face any consequences for their illegal activity. One example: Overseas operators of illegal piracy websites and apps make $2.3 billion a year – while also using that stolen content to bait Internet users so they can infect devices with malware or steal credit card information.
One solution adopted by Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia and over 50 other countries: if they can’t reach the overseas criminals targeting their citizens to deter them, then they block the websites of those criminals so they can’t reach their citizens.
In its new report, “Overseas and Out of Reach: International Video Piracy and U.S. Options to Combat It”, IP House, a leader in assessing and investigating intellectual property crimes, has analyzed how site-blocking has worked in other countries in advance of a U.S. debate on whether and how to adopt it.
Combatting the Overseas Digital Piracy Threat
Over 50 countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, have adopted forms of site-blocking.
How site-blocking works: A judge would decide whether blocking an overseas website operated by criminals would be justified. If the judge agrees, then the court would order ISPs to block the site.
