From https://metaculus.com//questions/15619/internet-archive-gone-completely-before-2025/ The Internet Archive maintains a digital lending library that lends out [digital copies of books it has in its physical possession](https://archive.org/details/inlibrary), such that one physical copy corresponds to one digital copy for lending. During the COVID-19 pandemic and the initial lockdowns in 2020, the Internet Archive expanded digital lending to allow an unlimited number of copies. This decision led to a [lawsuit filed by several publishers](https://www.eff.org/cases/hachette-v-internet-archive) against the Internet Archive, alleging copyright violation. In March 2023, a lower court [ruled against](https://file770.com/judge-decides-against-internet-archive/) the Internet Archive, although they plan to [continue fighting the case](http://blog.archive.org/2023/03/25/the-fight-continues/). A judgment against the Internet Archive could be devastating, as it is a free website funded by donations and may lose a significant amount of money to the publishing houses seeking damages. Furthermore, publishers seem to oppose the [entire operation of the Internet Archive](https://www.techdirt.com/2022/10/24/as-big-book-publishers-look-to-kill-the-internet-archive-it-introduces-democracys-library/), from its public domain work to its Wayback Machine, which is the largest archive of the Internet in existence. ***Will the entire Internet Archive website be taken offline before 2025?*** This question will resolve **Yes** if, before January 1, 2025, any of the following occurs: 1. Reputable news sources report that the Internet Archive has been shut down in its entirety. 2. The archive.org website is replaced with an official message by the Internet Archive stating that it is permanently and completely discontinued. 3. The archive.org website is replaced with an official message by law enforcement indicating that the domain has been seized. 4. The archive.org domain is inaccessible to all users for more than 72 consecutive hours. This question will NOT resolve "yes" if only some functionality of the Internet Archive (e.g., digital lending) is removed, but other functions of the site (such as the public domain archive or the Wayback Machine) remain operational.