Internet Archive Sued for Copyright Infringement

SAN FRANCISCO — The Internet Archive, a nonprofit that acts as a library with snapshots of old versions of websites, is being sued by a company that says the Archive has no right to store and make available pages that have been removed by their rightful owners.

Started in 1996, the Archive uses web-crawling bot programs to make copies of publicly accessible sites. The copies are then available for research purposes via a search tool called the Wayback Machine.

The site has so far accumulated 40 billion pages, about 1 petabyte, or 1 million gigabytes, of data and is growing at a rate of 20 terabytes per month. The Archive includes millions of pages from adult websites.

At the center of the current dispute is Philadelphia-based Healthcare Advocates, a company that recently lost a trade secrets lawsuit when attorneys for the defendant produced archived copies that showed the information in question had been made publicly available on a 1999 version of the company’s site.

The pages, Healthcare Advocates claims, were protected against unauthorized indexing and viewing by use of a robots.txt file, which are supposed to tell web crawlers when certain pages are not to be stored. The company says the Archive infringed its copyrights by not doing enough to block access to the pages.

In its suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, Healthcare Advocates said a representative of the Archive brushed off charges of wrongdoing and said the problem was probably caused by a glitch related to the robots.txt files and, therefore, was not the Archives concern.

Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Watch said he believes the Archive representative was right, adding that, while any outcome in the case is possible, he would be surprised if a judge doesn’t dismiss it summarily.

“Robots.txt is a voluntary opt-out option. It has no legal bearing,” Sullivan said.

If the court sides with the Archive, as Sullivan predicts, the decision could have far-reaching implications for adult webmasters who rely on nonbinding opt-out provisions of robots.txt to prevent search engines from copying and distributing their intellectual property.

Apparently, doing so is not as reliable as many might think. Attorneys for the defendant in the initial Healthcare Advocates case were able to access at least 92 pages that had supposedly been protected by robots.txt files.

And once a technology such as the Archive stores a page, webmasters may not have the right to make them disappear at a later date, for example, if they are lacking 2257 records for the models on the page.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Report: VPN Downloads Soar in UK Following Age Verification Deadline

Virtual private network apps, which can be used to circumvent geo-specific age verification requirements, are topping Apple App Store downloads in the U.K. in the wake of new Online Safety Act rules, the BBC is reporting.

Strike 3 Holdings Sues Meta for Pirating Vixen Media Group Content to Train AI

Vixen Media Group owner Strike 3 Holdings filed suit in federal court this week, accusing Facebook parent company Meta of copyright infringement and alleging that Meta has extensively pirated VMG content to train its artificial intelligence models.

Pineapple Support, Streamate to Host 'Navigating Grief and Loss' Support Group

Pineapple Support and Streamate are hosting a free online support group to help performers cope with grief and loss.

Friday is Final AV Compliance Deadline in UK

Friday, July 25 marks U.K. media regulator Ofcom’s deadline for user-to-user services such as tube, cam and fan sites to implement its requisite “highly effective age assurance” measures for preventing minors from viewing adult content.

AEBN Publishes Popular Searches for May, June

AEBN has released the top search terms for the months of May and June from its straight and gay theaters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Two Texas Bills Restricting Sex Toy Sales Fail to Pass

Two bills aimed at restricting sales of sex toys have failed to pass the Texas state legislature during its 2025 session.

NYC Adult Stores Petition for Rehearing in Zoning Law Case

A group of adult businesses on Tuesday petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit to rehear a case involving a zoning law that could severely limit adult stores’ operations in New York City.

Ofcom Releases Transparency Reporting Guidelines

Ofcom, the U.K. media regulator, has made public its official guidance detailing how online service providers — including adult sites — will be required to publish annual transparency reports on their efforts to protect children from online harms.

New AV Rules Take Effect for Ireland-Based Sites

Ireland’s Online Safety Code came into force Monday, including a provision requiring adult sites headquartered in Ireland to implement age assurance measures beyond self-declaration.

XBIZ Amsterdam Calls on New Startups for 'Spotlight' Program

XBIZ is pleased to announce that its new “Startup Spotlight” programming will make its European premiere at XBIZ Amsterdam 2025, set to take place Sept. 2-5 at the Jakarta Hotel Amsterdam.

Show More