Anna’s Archive loses .org domain, says suspension likely unrelated to Spotify piracy

Anna's Archive, a shadow library that aggregates and provides access to pirated content, has seen its primary domain, annas-archive.org, taken offline by the Public Interest Registry (PIR). The serverHold status, which prevents the domain from being activated in the DNS, is reportedly unrelated to Spotify piracy.

Despite making headlines with its recent "backup" of over 300TB worth of Spotify music, Anna's Archive claims that the suspension does not appear to be connected to the music pirating. The domain registrar, Tucows, has confirmed that it was unaware of the status before being alerted by Ars Technica and that PIR is responsible for setting server-type statuses.

Shadow libraries like Anna's Archive face regular domain suspensions, but a .org domain involvement is rare. The Public Interest Registry's stance on voluntary suspension suggests that the actions against annas-archive.org are backed by a court order.

Anna's Archive also faces another lawsuit from OCLC, a nonprofit that operates the WorldCat library catalog. OCLC alleges that Anna's Archive "illegally hacked WorldCat.org" to steal 2.2TB of data and is seeking a permanent injunction prohibiting Anna's Archive from scraping or distributing WorldCat data.

In response to the domain suspension, Anna's Archive has recommended checking its Wikipedia page for the latest available domains.

OMG, what's going on with Anna's Archive?! Like, I get that they're trying to provide access to pirated content and all, but a serverHold status? That's not cool! They're saying it's unrelated to Spotify piracy, but who knows right? The PIR is just being super strict, you know? And OCLC is coming after them for allegedly hacking WorldCat.org... that's some shady stuff . I feel bad for Anna's Archive, they've been doing this for a while and now their domain's gone off the grid . Guess they'll have to update that Wikipedia page ASAP

this anna's archive thingy is getting outta hand lol can't they just chill and let people access some free knowledge? anyway i think pirs decision to take down annas-archive.org might be a good thing in disguise, maybe it'll force them to get their own server or something. but seriously tho, what's the deal with oclc going after anna's archive too? seem like they're just trying to stifle free info

PIR just took down Anna's Archive, but it's not like they're hiding pirated Spotify music... yet They gotta pay their domain bills somewhere

I'm so weirded out about this - like, what even happens when you create something that's meant to be free and all about knowledge? You'd think it'd just get a pass , but nope! Anna's Archive gets shut down by PIR because... apparently they got caught red-handed (or should I say, red-domained?) hacking into OCLC's database . And now they're facing another lawsuit over scraping WorldCat data? It's like, chill, you created a shadow library to help people access info that's not easily available - what's the harm in that?

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this whole thing . So, Shadow libraries like Anna's Archive are just basically aggregating and sharing stuff that some people can't or won't access legally... right? And it seems like the Public Interest Registry is siding with OCLC on this one, which makes sense I guess since WorldCat is a pretty big deal for library catalogs .

But what really gets me is how Anna's Archive is just trying to stay active despite the domain suspension. Like, they're already being super proactive by telling everyone to check their Wikipedia page for updates . It shows that they're still committed to sharing this info, even if it means going through some hoops.

I'm also curious about why OCLC felt the need to take legal action against Anna's Archive... did they feel like they were getting hurt or something? And what does this say about our society and how we view access to information? I mean, shouldn't we be all about making knowledge accessible to everyone?

omg what's going on with annas archive?! they just got their main site taken down and now there's another lawsuit? like what even is a shadow library anymore? it's not like they're making any money off of all this pirated content... and oclc is trying to shut them down? can't they just chill? and pirl is being super shady too, no warning or anything? i mean what's the deal with court orders and all that jazz? can someone pls explain this to me?