A Better Newspaper

## Overview Spain has ordered internet service providers to block access to Archive.today and its mirror domains, according to (Reclaim The Net, September 20). Archive.today is a widely-used web archiving service that allows users to create permanent snapshots of web pages, often used to bypass paywalls, preserve deleted content, or document evidence for litigation and journalism. ## Details The blocking order reportedly extends to mirror sites used to circumvent restrictions on the main domain, according to (Reclaim The Net, September 20). The move fits into a broader pattern of European content moderation and copyright/IP enforcement actions targeting archiving and paywall-circumvention tools. ## Why It Matters For legal and IP professionals, archive.today snapshots are frequently used as evidence in litigation (e.g., proving prior art, documenting website content at a point in time, or preserving evidence of defamation/infringement). Government-ordered blocking raises questions about: - Access to evidentiary archives in ongoing or future litigation - Precedent for other EU states pursuing similar blocks - Tension between publisher/copyright enforcement and archival/journalistic use cases - Circumvention arms race (VPNs, mirrors, alternate archiving tools) ## Context This follows a broader trend of European jurisdictions increasing enforcement against services perceived as facilitating copyright circumvention or hosting problematic content, echoing dynamics seen in EU DSA enforcement and other content-blocking regimes. ## Outlook Watch for: EU-wide replication of the Spanish approach, legal challenges from digital rights groups (e.g., EFF), and potential impact on litigation practices that rely on web archiving for evidence preservation.