Reddit blocks Internet Archive to protect $200M AI licensing deals

Reddit has blocked the Internet Archive from indexing its content after discovering AI companies were circumventing Reddit’s scraping restrictions by harvesting data from archived pages instead. The move effectively eliminates a key resource for researchers and users who relied on archived Reddit content to track deleted posts and preserve community discussions.

What you should know: The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine can now only capture screenshots of Reddit’s homepage, not individual threads, profiles, or comments.

• Previously, the Wayback Machine served as a comprehensive backup of Reddit content, documenting everything from deleted posts to user activity across various subreddits.
• Moving forward, the archive will only provide daily snapshots of popular posts and news headlines, severely limiting its utility for research and content preservation.

The big picture: Reddit is leveraging privacy concerns and AI scraping violations to justify restrictions that could drive more lucrative licensing deals with AI companies.

• Tim Rathschmidt, a Reddit spokesperson, cited “instances where AI companies violate platform policies, including ours, and scrape data from the Wayback Machine” as justification for the block.
• The company also raised longstanding privacy concerns about the Wayback Machine archiving content that users have deleted.

Why this matters: The restriction removes a crucial tool for internet research and content preservation at a time when digital platforms increasingly control access to public discourse.

• Redditors have historically used the Wayback Machine to research deleted comments and preserve content during platform changes, such as the 2023 API modifications that threatened beloved subreddits.
• The move comes as Reddit expects to generate more than $200 million over three years from AI licensing deals, following agreements with OpenAI and a reported $60 million deal with Google.

What they’re saying: Reddit suggests the Internet Archive could take steps to address the AI scraping problem and potentially restore access.

• “Until they’re able to defend their site and comply with platform policies (e.g., respecting user privacy, re: deleting removed content) we’re limiting some of their access to Reddit data to protect redditors,” Rathschmidt said.
• Mark Graham, director of the Wayback Machine, confirmed that the Internet Archive has “a longstanding relationship with Reddit” and continues to have “ongoing discussions about this matter.”

The broader context: This represents another example of how AI training data disputes are reshaping internet archiving and research capabilities.

• Multiple tools exist for surfacing deleted Reddit posts, though some users noted the Wayback Machine wasn’t necessarily the easiest platform for that purpose.
• The Internet Archive has not indicated whether it’s exploring technical fixes to address Reddit’s concerns and restore full archiving capabilities.