Since 2010, Operation In Our Sites seized over 750 domain names. Many were forums, blog sites, or search engines. The domain names were seized without any notice to the site owners, who were denied any chance to appear in court for months afterwards. This is unconstitutional prior restraint.
To justify the seizures, the government is making legal claims that no court has ever found to be valid. Upholding these claims would result in the criminalization of much of the Internet and its users.
The government's actions result in public harm that is immediate, irreparable, and profound. Even if Operation In Our Sites stops piracy altogether, the ability for the government to seize domain names is something that cannot be tolerated in any open society.