The new bill would authorize the Librarian of Congress to designate technologies for the protection of copyrighted works online.
“In the fight to combat copyright piracy, there is currently no consensus-based standard technical measures and that needs to be addressed,” said Sen. Tillis in a statement. “I am proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation that will provide widely available piracy-fighting measures and create a trusted and workable internet for our creative communities.”
But because digital platforms would have been forced to utilize whatever standardized technologies arose under a deal with copyright owners — and risked losing their safe harbor protections if they refused to comply — they had little incentive to address the issue. As a result, no standard has been hashed out in the nearly 25 years since the DMCA’s passage.
No later than one year after the SMART Act’s enactment and every three years thereafter, the Librarian of Congress will begin accepting petitions from copyright owners, service providers and other stakeholders proposing the designation of a technical measure or the “rescission or revision” of a technical measure that was previously designated.