Spain Orders Blocks on Archive.today and Its Mirrors
The Spanish government has ordered internet service providers to block access to the web archiving service Archive.today, citing intellectual property concerns. Users attempting to access the site are redirected to a government page that labels the service as illegal and warns of potential criminal activity.
Why it matters
This action raises significant concerns regarding digital censorship, the power of administrative commissions to bypass court rulings, and the preservation of internet history.
No court ruling was required; only a complaint, a commission, and a censorship protocol built for speed.
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Spain’s Second Section of the Intellectual Property Commission, a part of the country’s Ministry of Culture, has ordered the blocking of several domains of the Archive.today service, a web archiving service.
It means that most Spanish internet users who try to access the site are redirected to a government page telling them that they are trying to access an “illegal” website.
The page, with the heading “ESTÁ USTED INTENTANDO ACCEDER A UN SITIO WEB ILEGAL” (“YOU ARE TRYING TO ACCESS AN ILLEGAL WEBSITE”), goes on to accuse the user of “facilitating illegal access to content protected by intellectual property rights” by visiting the site.
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