Spain Orders Blocking of Archive.today and Its Mirrors Over Copyright Infringement Claims

Blocking of Archive.today in Spain

Spain's Second Section of the Intellectual Property Commission, part of the Ministry of Culture, has issued an order to block several domains associated with the web archiving service Archive.today. This action means that most internet users in Spain attempting to access Archive.today or its mirror sites will be redirected to a government-hosted page.

Government Redirection Page

The redirection page informs users that they are trying to access an "illegal" website. It explicitly states that access has been blocked by a resolution from the Intellectual Property Commission due to "illegally facilitating access to content protected by intellectual property rights." The page further warns users that by attempting to access such content, they are "contributing to an illegal and criminal activity" and putting their security, data, and devices at risk.

Scope and Basis of the Block

The blocking order affects not only the main Archive.today domain but also its mirrors, including Archive.is, Archive.ph, and Archive.li. This decision stems from a complaint filed by an unnamed rights holder and is an administrative decision rather than a court ruling. Reports indicate that the blocking began in mid-August with some operators, with others following suit.

Precedent for Broad Blocking

Blocking an entire service to address a single offending entry is not a new tactic in Spain. Similar methods have been employed against websites that carried unauthorized sports broadcasts. This approach targets the entire platform rather than specific infringing content.