Technology AI, Science and New Things
The Internet Archive – an online library that hosts archived versions of all things digital, from websites to ebooks – is partly back online after two cyberattacks in a matter of days. The library is an essential tool for journalists, researchers, and scholars, but the hacks are only the latest in a series of existential threats. After years of legal battles over its archiving of copyrighted materials, last month the Archive lost an appeal in a case against the publisher Hachette. “It was like I’d gone to a pawn shop and seen my stolen possessions on sale,” said Sandra Cisneros, an author who gave a deposition in the case. The archivists don’t see it that way: “Literature is not a stack of books, and music is not a stack of instruments, and the Internet Archive is not a stack of servers – it is a set of beautiful cultural works.” Another case, brought by the music giant UMG Recordings, is ongoing. The Archive’s founder, Brewster Kahle, has promised to fight against “corporate decision-makers” who “increasingly control what stays online”.
