British Watchdog Group Bans 85B-page Internet Archive

LONDON — Because of a blacklist against child porn, one prominent ISP in Britain has disabled a major Internet archive. Total pages blocked: 85 billion.

The ISP in question is Demon Internet, which has made no formal announcement regarding the block of the Wayback Machine, one of the most popular Internet archives. Regular users of Alexa will know of the Wayback Machine's handy links in the left-hand column of every traffic stats page.

The blacklist originated with the Internet Watch Foundation, an organization that polices illegal online content. Despite the silence from Demon Internet, the IWF has confirmed its own involvement.

"The IWF can confirm it has taken action in relation to content on www.archive.org involving indecent images of children which contravenes UK law (Protection of Children Act 1978)," the IWF said in a statement. "The URL(s) in question were added to our URL list according to IWF procedures."

Demon Internet users first noticed the widespread ban when they tried to look up archived pages and got only generic "not found" pages that came from the IWF. Some Demon Internet users aren't experiencing any problems, while others have intermittent access to the Wayback Machine.

This isn't the first foul-up for the IWF. Last December, the IWF received complaints about an image on Wikipedia that depicted a naked prepubescent girl. The image in question was an album cover for the rock band The Scorpions.

In response to the complaints, the IWF instructed six British ISPs to reroute traffic through a small number of servers. The end result was that Wikipedia inadvertently stopped all British citizens from editing Wikipedia.

Related:  

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

Michigan Legislators Propose Online Porn Ban

Michigan lawmakers have introduced a bill that would make it illegal to distribute pornography via the internet in the state.

Florida AG Sues Aylo, Segpay Over State AV Law

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed lawsuits against Aylo and Segpay today with the 12th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida for noncompliance with HB3, the state's age verification law.

Colombian Court Sides with Esperanza Goméz in Meta Account Deactivation Battle

On Friday, Colombia’s Constitutional Court ruled in favor of adult performer Esperanza Gómez in her legal battle against Meta over repeated suspensions of her Instagram account.

Missouri AG Announces Age Verification Rule to Take Effect Nov. 30

Newly appointed Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced Friday that the state's recently approved age verification regulation for adult websites will go into effect on Nov. 30.

Aylo, Woodhull Freedom Foundation to Host 'Online Censorship' Event

Aylo and Woodhull Freedom Foundation will co-host a virtual panel addressing online censorship on Sept. 30.

Severe Sex Films Relaunches Site Through YourPaysitePartner

Severe Sex Films has relaunched its official website through YourPaysitePartner (YPP).

Judge Awards Plaintiffs Over $400K in Attorneys Fees in Derek Hay Civil Case

California Superior Court Judge Gail Killefer has awarded former clients of LA Direct Models over $400,000 in attorneys fees and court costs, to be paid by agency founder Derek Hay.

ChickPass Rebrands as 'ChickPass Cinematic Universe'

ChickPass has announced that it has rebranded its network of sites as ChickPass Cinematic Universe.

Brazilian Adult Industry Association ABIPEA Launches

Brazilian Association of the Adult Entertainment Industry and Professionals (ABIPEA) has officially launched its organization.

New Adult Social Media Platform 'Havven' Opens Beta Phase

Havven, a new adult social media platform, has opened its beta phase and will officially launch Oct. 5.

Show More