The nonprofit organization, Internet Archive, from San Francisco, California, is planning to move the world’s largest library of cached websites to Canada, out of the reach of the upcoming Donald Trump Administration.
Internet Archive founder, Brewster Kahle, wrote a blog post on Tuesday saying the firm was in need of a “design for change” as it planned to live a long time.
It means they will keep their educational material safe, private and accessible.
The organization has been a long proponent of an open and free internet, which they believe may be in jeopardy.
What is the Internet Archive?
The Internet Archive holds the Wayback Machine. People can use it to find copies of old websites released up to 20 years ago. The organization also maintains an extensive collection of millions of free movies, books, software, music, and websites.
The firm is home to more than 15 million gigabytes (petabytes) of online information. The Wayback Machine went live in 2009, and it currently holds up to 150 million archives in its digital time capsule.
The organization has its base in the Presidio, San Francisco. They use an algorithm that repeats a Web crawl every two months so they can add new Web page images to its database.
Their data centers are in Redwood City and Mountain View, California. It keeps cached not only pictures of websites, but also pictures, movies, software, clips, and books. Their massive database is often compared to the Bibliotecha Alexandrina.
Why is Donald Trump dangerous for the Internet Archive?
Trump has already suggested to close parts of the web or ban Muslim communities to enter certain areas of the World Wide Web to prevent extremists like ISIS from recruiting more people.
The proposal is not just impossible. It also threatens the freedom, participation, and interactivity the Internet is built on.
Trump’s views on free speech are raising further concerns. The president-elect says he would like to “open up” libel laws so he can punish journalists who say bad things about him.
Kahle also points the national surveillance on its citizens over the web might increase under Trump’s tenure. Another reason to move out of the United States. At this point, need to mention that If you really think about moving to Canada yourself, you may start with checking your eligibility for it with the Canadian immigration points calculator that will reflect your Canadian CRS score, the most important factor when you plan to immigrate to Canada.
What happens if the Internet Archive goes to Canada?
So, if the Interned Archive could operate from Canada, the organization would not have to follow the rules imposed by Trump’s administration.
They also would not be forced to cooperate on any governmental surveillance program or to stop storing certain information even if the US government creates new restrictions.
Dear Readers: make sure you have access to millions of books-forever, for free. Tmr on #GivingTuesday please donate https://t.co/rtxuDav228 pic.twitter.com/UZkaRX3FLH
— Internet Archive (@internetarchive) November 29, 2016
However, Kahle explained moving the libraries to Canada would cost “millions,” so he is asking supporters to help fund the effort with donations. The Internet Archive would have to pay bigger costs of servers, staff, and rent.
Source: Internet Archive Blog
