• General_Effort@lemmy.worldOP
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    14 hours ago

    Hmm. There are many things that could cause legal trouble for the Wayback Machine. I wouldn’t jump to conclusions.

    You can see on Lemmy that many people would prefer to outlaw scraping, fair use, and all that. Well, not for the “good guys” obviously, but the law doesn’t work on vibes. The IA would be legally impossible in most countries. In the EU, it would be a major crime because of copyright and GDPR. It’s only the traditional US commitment to free speech and fair use that makes it possible at all.

    The IA exists in a legally precarious position. That’s not because of any shady backroom dealing. If the crowd in this community had its way, it would be gone.

    • Bloomcole@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      13 hours ago

      I know the EU has different (stricter) laws and that they vary between states. (Germany being particularly awful)
      There is however some complicated form of fair use policy.
      If the IA hosts music and books that might be problematic.
      But I’m talking about archived webpages and information previously available to the public with zero commercial value that has been removed.
      And this includes American sites.