The Internet Archive needs your help. Sign petition @ bottom of description

The Internet Archive needs your help.
At a time when information is being rewritten or erased online, a $700 million lawsuit from major record labels threatens to destroy the Wayback Machine.
Tell the labels to drop the 78s lawsuit.

Take Action: Defend the Internet Archive
Posted on April 17, 2025 by Chris Freeland

The Internet Archive needs your help.

A coalition of major record labels has filed a lawsuit against the Internet Archive—demanding $700 million for our work preserving and providing access to historical 78rpm records. These fragile, obsolete discs hold some of the earliest recordings of a vanishing American culture. But this lawsuit goes far beyond old records. It’s an attack on the Internet Archive itself.

This lawsuit is an existential threat to the Internet Archive and everything we preserve—including the Wayback Machine, a cornerstone of memory and preservation on the internet.

At a time when digital information is disappearing, being rewritten, or erased entirely, the tools to preserve history must be defended—not dismantled.

This isn’t just about music. It’s about whether future generations will have access to knowledge, history, and culture.

Sign our open letter and tell the record labels to drop their lawsuit.

https://www.change.org/p/defend-the-internet-archive

https://archive.org/donate
About Chris Freeland
Chris Freeland is the Director of Library Services at Internet Archive.