The internet's memory is under threat as more sites block iconic Wayback Machine

The internet is arguably the largest archive in the world, holding decades of information that would otherwise be lost to time, yet that appears to be threatened by the desires of some large news networks who have blocked the valuable and iconic tool.

Freedom, for the most part, defines everyone's experience using the internet — as the service itself isn't just free to access but requires no additional cost to share your own output.

That notion of cost has somewhat eroded over time, as not only does it require money to access an increasing number of sites these days, but you're now likely paying with your data which for many companies is far more valuable that any form of financial compensation.

Another tenet of the internet's freedom that appears to be eroding at an growing rate, however, is its archival procedures with the preservation of certain major websites now blocked.

As reported by Forbes, analysis by AI-detection startup Originality AI has identified 23 separate leading news websites that area currently blocking 'ia_archiverbot' — a web crawling tool currently used by the Wayback Machine and its operator the Internet Archive.

If you've spent any time on the internet over the years there's a good chance you've used the Wayback Machine – even just for curiosity's sake to peer into the internet's past – yet that now is threatened in a time where misinformation is rife.

The Internet Archive isn't just used for historical purposes, which notably saw YouTube's origins recently appear in a major art gallery, but it's a key tool that helps prevent information from being lost to time and oppression.

It's not just news sites either, although the vast majority of these are operated by conglomerate USA Today Co., as social media platform Reddit also blocked access to tools operated by the Internet Archive back in August 2025.

Many of these sites have argued that its motivation isn't necessarily malicious, highlighting concerns surrounding artificial intelligence and bots at a time when mass training and copyright breaches have become considerations for court, but it still has an unintended and dangerous impact on the preservation of arguably the world's biggest information depository.

One user on X called the move to block the Wayback Machine 'bizarre', noting that "news is always time sensitive; libraries microfilmed old papers without hurting revenue. Now AI scraping and licensing create gaps in the public record. We lose context, stealth edits and accountability ('history by the victor')."

Another added that "this is how I can access the writings of my friend who passed at age 39 and read back over my conversations," showing how its impact isn't just on the wider scale.