• by Ray Schultz , August 21, 2024

The News/Media Alliance has prompted several online code platforms to remove illegal web browser software designed to help users bypass the paywall and metering tools used by publishers. 

The Alliance acted after learning that bad actors were posting software that allowed access to content without payment. 

“The Alliance applauds these platforms for swiftly removing these bypass tools, which are unlawful circumvention technologies prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and which one platform expressly confirmed also violates that platform’s terms of service,” says Danielle Coffey, president and CEO of the News/Media Alliance.

The DMCA offers no safe harbor for trafficking in circumvention technology, the Alliance states. 

Coffey adds: “Quality reporting is not free. Our members make significant investments to produce the journalism that is vital to civic engagement and the functioning of our democracy. But to do so, our members depend on their ability to monetize their content, with subscription revenues and other payments providing an essential lifeline for many publishers.”