Five Years After SOPA, Evidence Shows Blocking Websites that Engage in Piracy Is Effective, Doesn’t ‘Break the Internet’

WASHINGTON—During the vitriolic debate over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), many who opposed blocking websites that facilitate digital piracy said that it would be ineffective and, worse, would “break the Internet,” but five years’ worth of evidence from 25 countries that allow such policies now shows neither of those claims were true. In light of this, a new analysis by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a tech policy think tank, concludes that in future debates on Internet-related issues, lawmakers, the media, and the public should be more skeptical of hysterical and unsubstantiated objections to reasonable policy measures.

“Five years after SOPA, it is now abundantly clear that the debate generated much more heat than light,” said Nigel Cory, ITIF trade policy analyst and the report’s author. “Opponents’ core arguments were that blocking websites that engage in digital piracy would not work and would actually ‘break the Internet.’ But now we have empirical evidence from the United Kingdom, plus the experience of 24 other countries that allow piracy websites to be blocked, and it shows the alarmism that surrounded SOPA was just wrong. This should serve as an object lesson and reminder that in future debates on Internet-related issues, lawmakers should keep ill-informed claims made by those who oppose more effective intellectual property enforcement in their proper perspective.”

Cory’s report includes a review of a recent Carnegie Mellon University study, which found that blocking offending websites to fight digital piracy has been effective. The study analyzed the impact that blocking 53 piracy websites in the United Kingdom had on the behavior of 58,809 users. The results showed that blocking these websites caused a 90 percent drop in visits to the piracy sites and caused a 10 percent increase in visits to legal ad-supported sites and a 6 percent increase for subscription-based sites.

The ITIF report also argues that despite suggestions from critics that website blocking would “break the Internet,” there have been no dire outcomes in the 25 countries that allow website blocking for copyright infringement.

“Despite what opponents say, a free and open Internet is not antithetical to blocking websites that facilitate copyright infringement,” Cory concluded. “Even the most vocal supporters of Internet freedom recognize it is legitimate to remove or limit access to some materials online, such as child pornography. The key issue is not whether the Internet should be completely free or governments should have unlimited censorship authority, but rather where the appropriate lines should be drawn, how they should be drawn, and how they should be implemented. We hope this new evidence will serve as a reminder in future debates that alarmist rhetoric should be ignored.”

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Download report.