Publishers are blocking the Internet Archive for fear AI scrapers can use it as a workaround

Several major publishers have taken steps to block the Internet Archive, a valuable resource for journalists and researchers, citing concerns that AI companies' bots are using its collections as a workaround. The non-profit digital library's access to their content has been restricted due to fears that it could be used by AI businesses to indirectly scrape articles.

The head of business affairs and licensing for The Guardian, Robert Hahn, stated that the Internet Archive's API would have been an obvious place for AI companies to plug in and suck out the IP. Similarly, The New York Times has blocked the Internet Archive's bot from accessing its content, citing the Wayback Machine's unfettered access to its articles without authorization.

Subscription-focused publication Financial Times and social forum Reddit have also made moves to selectively block how the Internet Archive catalogs their material. These publishers are among those that have attempted to sue AI businesses for their methods of accessing content used to train large language models.

For instance, The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft, while the Center for Investigative Reporting has also taken action against these companies. Similarly, The Wall Street Journal and New York Post have sued Perplexity, and a group of publishers including The Atlantic, The Guardian, and Politico have sued Cohere.

While some media outlets have sought financial deals before offering up their libraries as training material, the issue remains complex due to copyright and piracy concerns in other creative fields such as fiction writers, visual artists, and musicians.
 
AI is changing everything πŸ€–... but do we really need to restrict access to old content just because some bots are using it? πŸ€” I mean, it's not like they're copying the work or selling it online without permission. They're just reusing what's already out there. And what about all the researchers who rely on the Internet Archive for their studies? πŸ“š It feels like we're creating more problems than we're solving. πŸ€·β€β™‚οΈ
 
🀯 just heard about this and i'm SHOOK!! major pubs are literally blocking internet archive like it's nobodies business πŸ™…β€β™‚οΈ but what if they're right? AI bots are getting sneaky with this whole "training material" thing πŸ€– i mean, who wants their content just taken willy nilly without permission? πŸ€” and yeah, copyright/piracy concerns for other creative folks too...it's like one big mess πŸ“ but i guess this is why they need to regulate these AI companies 🚫 what do u think tho?
 
ugh what a mess 🀯 these big publications are just trying to protect themselves from AI scraping news archives that are meant for EVERYONE to access 🌐 can't they see how important the Internet Archive is for journalism and research πŸ’‘ meanwhile AI companies are basically using them as a workaround πŸ˜’ financial deals? more like shady business practices πŸ€‘
 
πŸ˜’ this is so weird, publishers are blocking a useful resource because of AI companies using it πŸ€–. I mean, what's next? them just cutting off the internet archive's resources completely... that would be super inconvenient for journalists & researchers. πŸ“šπŸ‘Š and another thing, isn't the whole point of having archives like this to preserve knowledge & history? shouldn't we want to make it easier for AI companies to learn from them instead of blocking them out πŸ€”? also, it's just a matter of time before people start making money off of training models with archived content... or maybe that's already happening πŸ’Έ
 
πŸ€” This is a huge problem for me! I mean, can you imagine if all these big media outlets just blocked access to the Internet Archive? It's like they're trying to cut off their own noses to spite their faces... or rather, their AI models πŸ˜‚. I get that copyright and piracy are major concerns, but shouldn't we be finding ways to make those industries more sustainable instead of restricting access to info?

And honestly, I think it's a bit ironic that these publishers are suing AI companies for scraping articles when they're basically doing the same thing with their own API access πŸ€·β€β™‚οΈ. It's like they're trying to play both sides against each other... or maybe just trying to squeeze more money out of those AI businesses? Either way, I'm worried about the future of journalism and research if we can't find a better solution 🀯.
 
Ugh, what's going on with these big publishers? πŸ™„ They're just trying to protect themselves from AI companies using their archives without permission, but it's like they think the Internet Archive is the one who's doing something wrong... Like, hello! It's a digital library that's supposed to be a resource for everyone, not just some select group of people. And now they're suing each other? It's all so silly. πŸ€¦β€β™‚οΈ I mean, can't we just have open access to information and let the AI companies figure out how to use it responsibly? πŸ€” Anyway, this whole thing is a total mess, if you ask me...
 
omg this is crazy 🀯 these big publishers are being super paranoid about AI companies using their content without permission but honestly it's kinda their own fault for not having better systems in place... I mean like if you're so worried about your precious articles being scraped by bots then maybe you should just give the Archive access to a controlled API? πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ

and can we talk about how these companies are just trying to silence researchers and journalists who need that kind of access to get their jobs done? it's not fair to them πŸ’”
 
Ugh 🀯 I'm getting so frustrated with these big publishers! They're basically saying that because some AI companies are using the Internet Archive's content, they should cut off access for everyone else too πŸ™…β€β™‚οΈ Like what even is the point of having a library if you can just block people from using it? πŸ“š

I mean, I get it, copyright and piracy concerns are legit worries. But come on! The Internet Archive is a non-profit and their purpose is to preserve digital history and make info accessible to everyone 🌎. It's not like they're sharing this content for free or anything πŸ˜….

These publishers need to chill out and think about how their actions affect the rest of us who just want access to good information πŸ’‘. I'm so tired of seeing all these lawsuits and blockades - can't we just find a way to share knowledge without making a big ol' mess? πŸ€”
 
πŸ€” I'm totally bummed about this news - it's like they're creating a new set of problems for journalists and researchers who rely on the Internet Archive for their work πŸ˜’. AI companies are already pushing boundaries with their bots, and now publishers are trying to block them from accessing content on the Internet Archive? It just seems like a bunch of gatekeeping 🚫.

I mean, think about it - the Internet Archive is basically an open-source library that everyone can use for free πŸ’‘. You'd think that's what the whole point of publishing your work online was in the first place πŸ€·β€β™‚οΈ. But nope, now you've got these big media outlets trying to restrict access and sue AI companies for using their content as a training set πŸ“š.

It's like they're worried about copyright infringement or something, but what about all the legitimate uses of public domain materials? πŸ€” What about researchers who just want to use archived articles to get a better understanding of history or science? 🧠 It seems like the Internet Archive is getting caught in the crossfire between these competing interests πŸ’₯.
 
I'm so frustrated with this news 🀯! The Internet Archive is like a treasure trove of knowledge and it's being blocked by these big publishers? It doesn't make sense to me why they're being so restrictive about their content πŸ™„. I mean, the Internet Archive has been using that Wayback Machine for years without anyone complaining... it's just an API thingy, right? πŸ’»

And what's with all these lawsuits against AI companies? Can't we just focus on making tech better instead of suing each other? It's like they're fighting over a game of chess while the rest of us are trying to figure out how to play πŸ€Ήβ€β™€οΈ.

I guess it's true that copyright and piracy concerns exist in other creative fields, but I don't see why this one field has to be so unfair πŸ™…β€β™‚οΈ. It's just a matter of time before we have to start using VPNs and proxy servers just to access the content we need... and that's not going to end well 😬.

Come on, publishers! Can't you just chill and let us use your stuff? We're not hurting anyone πŸ€—.
 
Ugh, can we just get a decent info dump around here? 🀯 Everyone's all like "AI is bad" but no one's talking about how this affects the rest of us who actually need access to that stuff... I mean, like me, I'm trying to create some content and I need to know where to find my research. And now it sounds like a bunch of big publishers are just gonna block us from accessing anything because they're paranoid about their precious libraries being scraped? πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ It's not like AI companies didn't already figure out ways to get around the archive... Like, come on guys, if you really care about your stuff, use some basic security measures instead of trying to shut everyone else down. And btw, what's with all these lawsuits?! Can we just have a conversation about this instead of playing the "my content is valuable" card? πŸ’Έ
 
ugh I'm getting so frustrated for these publishers... they're basically creating a digital wall that restricts access to info & historical content 🀯 meanwhile AI companies are still scraping away without being held accountable... it's like they think they own the internet πŸ˜’ and what really gets me is how this affects journalists & researchers who need that info to do their jobs πŸ’Ό like, can't we just find a way to balance copyright concerns with access to knowledge πŸ€”
 
I'm low-key worried about this whole thing πŸ€”. Like, I get it that AI companies need data to train their models, but is it really necessary to restrict the Internet Archive's access? It's already a super valuable resource for journalists and researchers. And what's gonna happen when other industries like music or art try to block access too? It's all about finding that balance between protecting intellectual property and letting creators share their work. πŸ“šπŸ’»
 
πŸ€” I'm not surprised publishers are clamping down on the Internet Archive, but honestly it's a bit like they're trying to chase AI companies under a rock. Like if you're going to sue them for copying content, maybe invest in building your own digital library instead? πŸ˜‚ And what's with all these lawsuits? It feels like everyone's trying to protect their precious IP, but who really knows how much of this is about protecting themselves from getting exposed by AI-generated content? πŸ€·β€β™‚οΈ Meanwhile, the Internet Archive just wants to help journalists and researchers, so I don't get why they're making such a big deal. It's like we're stuck in some kind of digital copyright purgatory πŸ’”
 
I'm worried about where this is all heading πŸ€”. These big publishers are blocking the Internet Archive, which I think is a valuable resource for so many people. They're citing AI companies using it to scrape articles, but what's wrong with that? It sounds like they just want to keep their content under lock and key πŸ’Έ. And now they're trying to sue these AI businesses? That's just going to make things more complicated 🀯. I think we need to talk about copyright law and find a way to balance the needs of creators with the needs of researchers and journalists who just want access to information πŸ’‘.
 
Ugh, this is getting crazy 🀯! These big publishers are basically saying that we can't access our own old articles because some AI bots might be using them, like they're trying to control what gets shared online? It's so frustrating! And now they're suing companies for doing the same thing... it's just a never-ending cycle of fear and mistrust πŸ˜’.

But you know who really suffers in all this? The researchers and journalists who need that old content to do their jobs. I mean, come on, we're talking about preserving history here! πŸ€“ Can't they see that the Internet Archive is just trying to help?

And what's with the fear of copyright infringement? Like, isn't that what we're supposed to be protecting in the first place? It feels like these big publishers are more worried about their own profit margins than making sure information gets out into the world πŸ€‘.
 
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