Why Major News Sites Are Blocking The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine
The Internet Archive just lost access to three decades of news. Here's why publishers are betting against digital preservation.
Why it matters
Major news outlets are blocking the Wayback Machine to combat AI training data scraping, raising critical questions about data access, AI governance, and the long-term preservation of digital history — a policy battle that will shape how AI companies source training data.
The key facts
9 to knowNews publishers blocking Wayback Machine access to prevent AI scraper training
Three decades of digital history now restricted
Tension between AI data acquisition and digital preservation
Policy/governance implications for AI training data sourcing
Major news outlets blocking Wayback Machine access
Motivation: preventing AI scraping for training data
Impact on 30+ years of archived digital content
Suggests industry-wide trend toward AI data source restrictions
Raises policy/ethics questions about digital preservation vs. IP protection
Go to the source
Forbes Innovationforbes.com
Publisher excerpt: Major news outlets are blocking the Wayback Machine to fight AI scrapers — and taking three decades of digital history with them.