Trending Now - Major Outcry as News Giants Restrict Internet Archive Access

WHO:

Techmeme - 23 major news websites and Reddit are involved in blocking the Internet Archive's crawler.

Wired - Journalists and advocacy groups are supporting the Internet Archive.

WHAT:

Daily Kos - The Supreme Court's ruling in March 2026 was a 7-2 decision, with Justices Sotomayor and Jackson concurring in the judgment but not the reasoning.

Daily Kos - The Supreme Court's ruling clarified that to be contributorily liable for copyright infringement, an ISP must either actively induce infringement or provide a service with no real non-infringing use.

Daily Kos - The Supreme Court's decision overturned a billion-dollar verdict against Cox Communications, which had only terminated 32 subscribers during the claim period despite receiving 163,148 notices of alleged copyright infringement.

Daily Kos - The Supreme Court's ruling in Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment stated that to be contributorily liable for copyright infringement, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) must either actively induce infringement or provide a service with no real non-infringing use.

Daily Kos - The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in March 2026 in the case of Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment, overturning a billion-dollar verdict against Cox for not terminating internet service to users accused of copyright infringement.

Techmeme - The Internet Archive's crawler, which is used for archiving web pages, has been blocked by these news outlets.

Wired - There is a major outcry regarding the restriction of access to the Internet Archive's vast collection of web pages.

WHERE:

Techmeme - The actions are taking place across various major news websites and Reddit, which are online platforms.

WHEN:

Techmeme - The blocking of the Internet Archive's crawler occurred in 2026.

WHY:

Daily Kos - The ruling is viewed as a protection against ISPs being pressured into terminating service based on accusations rather than convictions, which could lead to widespread disconnection of households from the internet.

Daily Kos - The ruling is seen as a protection against the potential for ISPs to be pressured into terminating service based on accusations rather than convictions, which could lead to widespread disconnection of households from the internet.

Wired - The motivation behind the blocking appears to be concerns over copyright and content ownership.

HOW:

Daily Kos - The case involved MarkMonitor, a company hired by Sony and other labels to scrape the internet for copyright infringement, which sent numerous notices to Cox Communications regarding alleged piracy.

Daily Kos - The case involved a company called MarkMonitor that was hired by Sony and other labels to scrape the internet for copyright infringement, sending numerous notices to Cox Communications regarding alleged piracy.

Techmeme - The method of blocking involves technical measures taken by the news websites and Reddit to prevent the Internet Archive's crawler from accessing their content.

(UPDATED April 13, 2026 23:12 UTC)

The Supreme Court issued a significant ruling in March 20th26, deciding seven to two that an internet service provider must either actively induce copyright infringement or provide a service with no real non-infringing use to be held contributorily liable. This decision overturned a billion-dollar verdict against Cox Communications, which had only terminated 32 subscribers despite receiving over 163,000 notices of alleged infringement. The case involved MarkMonitor, a company working for Sony and other labels, which had sent numerous notices to Cox regarding piracy, and the ruling is seen as a safeguard against ISPs being pressured to disconnect users based solely on accusations.

(UPDATED April 13, 2026 17:20 UTC)

The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Cox Communications in the case against Sony Music Entertainment, stating that an Internet Service Provider must either actively induce copyright infringement or provide a service with no real non-infringing use to be held liable. This decision overturned a billion-dollar verdict against Cox, which had only terminated 32 subscribers despite receiving over 163,000 notices of alleged infringement. The ruling is viewed as a safeguard against ISPs being pressured to disconnect users based solely on accusations, which could have resulted in widespread internet disconnections.

(UPDATED April 13, 2026 15:21 UTC)

The Supreme Court ruled seven to two in March 20th26 in the case of Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment, overturning a billion-dollar verdict against Cox. The court found that the company was not required to terminate internet service for users accused of copyright infringement. This decision marks a significant shift in how copyright enforcement is handled online.

(UPDATED April 13, 2026 13:28 UTC)

Major news websites and Reddit have taken steps to block the Internet Archive's crawler, which is crucial for archiving web pages, sparking significant concern among journalists and advocacy groups who support the Archive. This action, which began in 2026, has led to a widespread outcry regarding the restriction of access to the Archive's extensive collection of web pages, raising issues around copyright and content ownership. The blocking is being enforced through technical measures implemented by these platforms to prevent the crawler from accessing their content.