The FBI is investigating the anonymous individual behind Archive.today, a web snapshot service often used as an alternative to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine and sometimes employed to bypass paywalls. The probe, revealed through a recently disclosed subpoena, seeks extensive personal and financial information about the site’s elusive operator.
Founded in 2012, Archive.today allows users to create permanent, fully functional captures of web pages, including those containing complex JavaScript. The platform operates under several domain names — Archive.is and Archive.ph among them — and hosts hundreds of millions of archived pages. Despite its widespread use for preserving online content, the service has drawn scrutiny for enabling users to view restricted material and for its involvement in past online controversies, including the Gamergate harassment campaign, during which it was used to redirect traffic from original sources.
According to a subpoena published by Archive.today itself, the FBI requested that Tucows, a Canadian domain registrar, provide “extensive information” about the website’s owner. The requested data includes the individual’s name, address, billing information, phone records, credit card or banking details, and internet session logs tied to the account. The subpoena states that the information is required as part of an ongoing criminal investigation, though it does not specify the nature of the case.
The FBI also instructed Tucows not to disclose the subpoena publicly, warning that doing so could compromise the investigation. Archive.today appeared to circumvent that order by posting the document online. It remains unclear how the website obtained a copy of the subpoena, or whether Tucows had already complied with the request.
A Tucows spokesperson told reporters that the company routinely cooperates with legitimate law enforcement inquiries but declined to comment on active investigations.
Archive.today’s ownership has long been a mystery. Clues from earlier blog posts suggest that the administrator may be a Russian citizen with access to European-based resources, though this has never been verified. The site’s FAQ describes it as “privately funded” and operating without “complex” financial structures.
The FBI’s interest in the platform marks the first known law enforcement inquiry into Archive.today’s operations. While the scope of the investigation remains undisclosed, the request for detailed personal and financial data suggests a broader attempt to identify and track the network behind one of the internet’s most persistent — and secretive — web archiving services.
Featured image credits: Freepik
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