Authors Guild Applauds Introduction of Block BEARD Act to Combat Foreign Book Piracy and Protect U.S. Authors

The Authors Guild welcomes the introduction of a discussion draft of the Block Bad Electronic Art and Recording Distributors (Block BEARD) Act of 2025, a vital bipartisan effort led by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chris Coons (D-DE), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA). This legislation would give copyright holders, including authors and publishers, powerful new tools to combat foreign-based digital piracy sites that steal and distribute books and other creative works without authorization.

The Block BEARD Act creates a judicial process to designate foreign websites as “foreign digital piracy sites” and authorizes courts to issue orders directing internet service providers, domain registrars, and other online intermediaries to prevent access to these sites from within the United States. It is narrowly tailored to ensure that it targets only foreign-based piracy operations that have no other purpose.

This bill could be a game-changer for authors, many of whom have seen their books illegally distributed by offshore websites operating with impunity. As we have long emphasized, book piracy is a major threat to the livelihood of working writers. It deprives authors of income, undermines legitimate sales, and allows bad actors to profit from the stolen work of others.

Foreign pirate sites are the main source of ebooks AI companies have used to train their AI systems, which are then used to generate works that compete with the works that were stolen in the first place. Curbing access to these sites is crucial now more than ever, as we heard in David Baldacci’s recent powerful testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Crime Subcommittee hearing on AI companies’ use of pirated content for AI training.

“We thank Senators Tillis, Coons, Blackburn, and Representative Schiff for introducing the Block BEARD Act,” said Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild. “Foreign pirate sites are a direct threat to authors’ ability to earn a living from their work. By empowering rights holders to seek orders in U.S. courts to shut down access to notorious foreign-based pirate sites, this bill provides a long-needed remedy against one of the most persistent and widespread harm to authors’ livelihoods.”

Under the act, copyright holders can petition federal courts to designate a foreign online location as a piracy site by showing that it is “primarily designed or provided for” copyright infringement. Once designated, courts can issue orders directing service providers to take reasonable steps to block access to the site by U.S. users. The bill includes due process protections and technical feasibility standards, while shielding service providers from liability when acting in good faith.

We look forward to working with lawmakers on advancing this much-needed legislation.

Read the full text of the draft bill here (PDF).