The Internet Is Being Erased [video]
The video discusses how digital content is disappearing from the internet at an alarming rate due to link rot, platform shutdowns, and content deletion, highlighting the fragility of online information and the challenges of preserving digital history.
Background
- This video documents "link rot" — the phenomenon where hyperlinks on the web break because the pages they point to have been deleted, moved, or taken offline.
- Key resources discussed include the **Internet Archive (archive.org)**, a nonprofit digital library that has been saving copies of web pages for over 25 years, and its **Wayback Machine**, which lets users view historical snapshots of websites.
- The problem is accelerating: studies show that ~38% of web pages from 2013 are no longer accessible, and ~50% of links in Supreme Court opinions, academic papers, and government reports lead to dead pages.
- The video also covers **legal threats to the Internet Archive**, including a major copyright lawsuit from publishers (Hachette v. Internet Archive) that could force it to remove millions of books and potentially undermine its broader mission.
- Why it matters: as more of our culture, governance, and knowledge moves online, link rot means we are collectively losing access to primary sources, news, legal precedents, and digital history — making the web an unreliable archive of itself.