Reddit Blocks Wayback Machine to Thwart AI Scrapers

Reddit (NYSE:RDDT) has cut off the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine from archiving most of its site, in a bid to curb artificial intelligence scrapers from pulling its content without permission. The block applies across Reddit's pages except for its front page, which remains accessible.

The company says AI scrapers were bypassing restrictions by harvesting archived Reddit pages from the Wayback Machine. It also flagged the service's refusal to delete removed Reddit content as another reason for the move. Reddit said it informed the Internet Archive ahead of the block and will keep it in place until the archive safeguards its data from AI scrapers and complies with Reddit's policies.

Wayback Machine director Mark Graham told The Verge that the two sides maintain a longstanding relationship and are in ongoing talks.

While the decision aligns with Reddit's data protection push, it also limits public access to historical internet records a tradeoff some see as a loss for the broader web. RDDT stock gained 0.69% Wednesday, extending a 38% year-to-date rally.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

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