A consortium of entertainment industry groups has targeted file-sharing sites such as The Pirate Bay, Kickass Torrents and Torrentz in an initiative to take down the domains of copyright infringing sites. The initiative is reminiscent of SOPA, which called for similar measures.

In a hearing before the Internet subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, the Coalition for Online Accountability (COA) argued for the domain removal of sites found to be infringing copyright regulations.

The COA members include the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), the same groups that pushed for the failed SOPA, or Stop Online Piracy Act three years ago. It appears the COA is revisiting one of the main provisions of SOPA without directly referencing the failed law, which in 2011 sparked widespread outrage and unprecedented organization among internet users in opposition of the proposed act.

The COA argued that domain registrars have a responsibility to police and react to websites that engage in copyright infringing activity, such as file sharing and torrent sites like The Pirate Bay and Kickass Torrents. The coalition's chief counsel, Steve Metalitz, argued that when sites are alerted to illegal activities by copyright owners, they are not taking action to investigate and remove the offending material, even though they agreed to do so in the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement, or RAA.

"Well-documented reports of abuse that are submitted to registrars by right-holders, clearly demonstrating pervasive infringement, are summarily rejected, in contravention of the 2013 RAA, which requires that they be investigated," he said. Because the registrars are not upholding the agreement, the COA wants to attack the offending domains directly with suspensions and revocations.

The COA also wants to limit the ability to register domain names anonymously, and to reveal the names of anonymous registrants in cases of copyright infringement.

The top digital rights advocacy group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) argued against the proposals in a letter to the committee, stating that "This is effectively the same proposal that formed the centerpiece of the Stop Online Piracy Act of 2011 (SOPA), which this Committee set aside after millions of Americans voiced their opposition. Using the global Domain Name System to enforce copyright law remains as problematic in 2015 as it was in 2011."

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