John,

If you love books– and think everyone should have access to the media they love without gatekeeping and surveillance– this news is going to sting.

Our friends at the Internet Archive have been fighting a tough legal battle against Big Publishing over their digital library project. Just like many libraries, the Archive scans and digitizes books that they own, giving millions of readers free and open access to the media they love without being spied on by data-scraping apps. Back in March, the courts ruled for Big Publishing, wiping over 500,000 books from the Archive, but the Archive appealed.¹ Yesterday, we found out the courts sided with Big Publishing yet again.²

We’re feeling riled up. And, in typical Fight style, plans are already in motion to put that energy to good use.

This ruling is a huge blow to readers, authors, and libraries everywhere– but we’re not giving up. Will you take urgent action to restore our rights to safely access digital books?

1. Take action at BattleforLibraries.com:
   Add your name to the tens of thousands of readers and authors demanding lawmakers take action to protect our rights to free and safe media. Share your story of how Big Publishing’s greed is impacting you, and help spread the word. We’re going to do something with these signatures, so get your name on there ASAP.
   

   TAKE ACTION

2. Donate to fund our rapid response organizing.
   It’s going to take people power and money to pull off our big plan and stand up for the Internet Archive the way they deserve. And you know that when we show up, we show up!^3,4,5 Help us turn this fight around and make those publishers regret they ever poked our anthill. A donation of any size makes a huge difference. Can we count on you?

           DONATE NOW

This fight touches absolutely everyone– from abortion-seekers fighting off surveillance to find the information they need to young activists trying to read up on movement history to casual readers facing data harvesting that could follow them for the rest of their lives. We can’t give up on a future with safe digital alternatives to Big Publishing’s data extraction model.

We’re planning to get creative as we get all eyes on this fight and push for action to protect book ownership and privacy. Thank you for showing up and staying tuned on ways to help. This is just the beginning.

Together,

Lia at Fight for the Future

Footnotes:

1. Common Dreams: https://www.commondreams.org/news/internet-archive-publishers-copyright-libraries

2. Statement + photos on ruling in Hachette v Internet Archive: this can’t stand: https://www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2024-09-04-statement-photos-on-ruling-in-hachette-v-internet-archive-this-cant-stand/

3. Rally against Digital Book Bans & Surveillance: https://youtu.be/sgYjaGT_HbA

4. Statement on Internet Archive’s oral arguments in appeal for the right to own digital books: https://www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2024-06-27-statement-on-internet-archives-oral-arguments-in-appeal-for-the-right-to-own-digital-books/

5. 25+ Human Rights Organizations Call on 2024 Congress to Investigate Big Tech and Publishing’s Stranglehold over Digital Books: https://www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2023-12-07-25-human-rights-organizations-call-on-2024-congress-to-investigate-big-tech-and-publishings-stranglehold-over-digital-books/