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Even The Internet Archive Is Moving To Canada Because Of Trump
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Nov 30, 2016
Modified Nov 30, 2016
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Nov 30, 2016
Modified Nov 30, 2016
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This reads like an Onion article, but: a digital library that archives billions of web pages is seeking donations to back up the entire Internet in Canada, citing censorship and surveillance fears in the coming Age of Trump.
The Internet Archive is a self-proclaimed "non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more," and it also archives billions of webpages for historical record—in May 2014, the archive had 1000 terabytes of data storage, and one can only imagine that treasure trove's grown exponentially in the last two years. But the incoming presidential administration appears to lack respect for the First Amendment, and the organization says it would prefer to keep the Internet safe outside of the United States.
In a blog post, founder Brewster Kahle pleaded with supporters to donate to the organization as it attempts to build a second Internet Archive in Canada:
On November 9th in America, we woke up to a new administration promising radical change. It was a firm reminder that institutions like ours, built for the long-term, need to design for change. For us, it means keeping our cultural materials safe, private and perpetually accessible. It means preparing for a Web that may face greater restrictions. It means serving patrons in a world in which government surveillance is not going away; indeed it looks like it will increase.
Throughout history, libraries have fought against terrible violations of privacy—where people have been rounded up simply for what they read. At the Internet Archive, we are fighting to protect our readers’ privacy in the digital world.
Kohle hopes replicating their archives will make it more difficult for authorities to request data on user activity, and would spare websites from censorship.
Trump has previously suggested harsher oversight on the tech industry in an effort to stymie extremism, as unconstitutional as that might be. He's also vowed to crack down on Internet porn, probably so it'll be harder for people to get their hands on his own adult film cameo.
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donald trump
internet
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Rebecca Fishbein
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