Russian authorities have blocked access to Archive.today and its associated domains, including .is and .ph. This block was observed on Monday, as reported by TechCrunch, which attempted to access the websites from the U.S. East Coast.
The block was confirmed by a Russian error page stating, “Access to the Internet resource Blocked by decision of the public authorities,” with reference to Roskomnadzor, the agency responsible for internet censorship in Russia. While Roskomnadzor acknowledged that access to Archive.is is limited, it did not provide an explanation for the action. Archive.today, however, was accessible during TechCrunch‘s checks, and inquiries directed to Roskomnadzor went unanswered outside of Moscow’s working hours.
Despite the official block, TechCrunch was able to access Archive sites using various devices and networks, indicating that the extent of the block and its implementation remain unclear. Archive.today is recognized for archiving web pages, including content typically shielded by paywalls.
The decision to restrict Archive.today comes amid heightened scrutiny, as Wikipedia editors recently removed hundreds of thousands of links to the site. Concerns arose over the website’s methods, with allegations claiming that Archive.today’s code utilizes visitors’ browsers to generate junk traffic directed at a blogger who criticized its operations. The operators of Archive.today did not respond to requests for comment regarding the block or the controversy surrounding their website.
