The IA needs to relocate out of the US, now. The EU and Canada should be convinced to fund them.
I've donated to them and am willing to do so again, but I'd like it to be after they show they have a concrete exit plan.
this post was submitted on 20 Apr 2025
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They need to federate and decentralize with some sort of p2p protocol, so anyone can donate their spare hard drives for additional redundancy. Seeing up shop in any jurisdiction is a single point of failure.
The IA is already marked for death and has been ever since they doubled down after blatantly infringing copyright with scanned books during the pandemic. IRC the full penalties of that haven't been felt yet, and I think they are likely to bankrupt the ogranisation.
What IA needs to do is spin off the actual Internet Archive element to another organisation, outside of the US like you say, such that an essential part of the internet isn't taken down with the organisation.
Not sure why you’re being downvoted. The Internet Archive is a fantastic resource, but to say they take a lackadaisical approach to copyright/IP law is putting it lightly. There is SO much pirated content on there that it’s a wonder they’ve managed to last as long as they have, being US-based.
Whether you agree with the spirit of the laws or not, there’s no arguing that they’ve long been on a collision course with major US copyright holders and I doubt they can survive without a massive effort to relocate somewhere out of reach.
Eventually having any money in your wallet at all will be at a collision course with US copyright holders, almost as if copyright is an unsustainable tool of neocolonialism that has no place in a post scarcity world.
I mean it was a precarious case that was on the verge of being acceptable to most people, but legally was clearly not. Scanning books and providing a single digital copy was legally grey, but everyone looked the other way. Providing extra copies during a pandemic was kind, but allowing it to go to court and not settling (and then doubling down with appeals, all of which has to be funded by donations that could have been spent elsewhere) ended up with a judge ruling that no one can scan books and publish a single copy without an explicit license from the publisher. So that grey area is now black and white.
I can't help but resent them for this, given that the main part of the organisation - the actual Internet Archive - is so important and they've put its survial at risk with their side hussle. Some of the blame (perhaps even a majority?) should also go to the lawyers that represented IA.
Why is it that when every good resource that pops up, it has to be in the US, where it gets shut down anyway, due to such strict censorship laws. Just move to Sweden or Norway or something.
Internet Archive is an amazing resource that I'm grateful for. Seeing this confirms my bias of Elon Musk, that he's a fake and doesn't actually care about humanitarian goals, or initiatives to help people. He's in it for himself, and he is not an actual altruist. He makes it about his money, and his power, not genuinely trying to support resources that may help people.
Elon Musk is a fake!
This is something that should be preached everywhere.
Do monthly reoccurring donations for them!
I'm amazed he didn't shut it down