• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, July 17, 2025

A blow was struck for publishers this week when the News/Media Alliance brought down the paywall bypass website 12ft.io (aka “12ft Ladder”). 

According to the Alliance, the 12ft Ladder site offered “illegal circumvention technology that stripped paywalls, allowing users of the technology to access otherwise restricted copyright protected content without paying the required fee.” 

The website went down on Monday, July 14, and was not available at deadline on Thursday. 

The Alliance did not provide details on how this was achieved.

This, of course, does not eliminate the problem of paywall bypass sites. There are others, and some consumers might applaud their efforts, given the annoyance with paywalls. 

Typically, they offer to bring users to archives. Surely, other such sites will pop up given the ubiquity of paywalls. 

But the News/Media Alliance vows to take similar actions against other bypass purveyors. 

“This takedown is a win for publishers and a win for anyone who cares about quality content,” says Danielle Coffey, president and CEO of the News/Media Alliance. “Publishers commit significant resources to creating the best and most informative content for consumers, and illegal tools like 12ft.io undermine their ability to financially support that work through subscriptions and ad revenue. Taking down paywall bypassers is an essential part of ensuring we have a healthy and sustainable information ecosystem.”