In Russia
📛 Expert Warns of the Risks of Blocking Measures
Josh Withrow of the R Street Institute warns about the dangers of new US legislative proposals (FADPA and BlockBEARD) that would require ISPs to block foreign pirate websites.
The new acts would allow rights holders to seek court orders compelling ISPs to block overseas resources “primarily designed” for piracy.
This could lead to excessive enforcement, affecting lawful content (“collateral damage”) and giving the government “too much control over the flow of information.”
Blocking entire IP addresses could result in many innocent websites being taken offline.
Using internet providers as tools for infrastructure-level blocking creates technical challenges and opens the door to censorship, surveillance, and internet fragmentation.
The expert argues that ISP-level blocking is too vulnerable to abuse and is incompatible with the principles of a free and open internet.
