Imagine a future without access to knowledge...

Together, we can find a better way forward

On the 25th anniversary of the Internet Archive, we’re looking forward to the year 2046. Will we have access to trustworthy information online? Will knowledge be free and open?

The future depends on us.

Access to good information is not a given. If you value it, you have to protect it.

Here’s what you can do:

Imagining Dystopia: IA2046

How could these threats escalate into a dystopian future? We've got three tools to help you imagine 2046.

Search the Future with the Wayforward Machine

Everyone loves the Wayback Machine, right? A search engine of 588 billion web pages taking you through 25 years of Internet history.

But what will the Internet look like 25 years from now? Try out the Wayforward Machine, over and over, to see different possibilities.

Wayforward Machine

Explore our interactive timeline

2021
2046
2022
Repeal of Section 230 has devastating effects across the web
2022
Reputation management firms bring lawsuits en masse against Internet users
2022
EFF fights lawsuits brought against multiple websites
2023
End to end encryption is banned by governments worldwide
2023
Global News Monopoly is Formed
2024
The draconian Digital Copyright Act of 2024 is passed
2025
Defamation lawsuits for third-party content force the Internet Archive to turn off the Wayback Machine.
2025
Two of the world's largest conglomerates merge to form Apex
2026
Tighter regulations force significant closures in the technology sector
2026
Apex signs partnership agreements with fossil fuel corporations
2026
Copyright law is amended to allow corporations to copyright facts
2027
Wikipedia is driven underground
2027
Print media disappears while digital media is paywalled
2028
Implementation of "great firewalls" across multiple nation states
2028
Internet Archive loses the lawsuit brought against it by publishing cartel
2028
US schools struggle to provide children with digital books
2028
Three additional global tech giants merge as Invicta Capital
2029
Lawsuits make inroads against freedom of information online
2029
US withdraws from all global climate agreements
2029
New regulations cause companies to move their operations to the US
2029
Internet Archive Canada thrives as a separate entity
2030
Independent publications are bought up and shut down
2030
Lower income students are priced out of higher education
2030
Public support for groups protecting citizens' digital rights increases exponentially
2031
The US follows others in adopting harsh digital regulations
2031
The Republic of East Asia obtains access to citizens' data
2032
The South Asian Republic creates its own great firewall
2034
Merger of the remaining three biggest global publishers
2035
Public libraries are defunded in the US
2037
Devastating cuts are made to school syllabi and reading materials
2039
Apex and Invicta Capital establish restrictive new data-walls
2040
90% of public libraries in the US are shut down
2040
Fossil fuel investment increases worldwide
2041
Number of climate refugees in Europe reaches 200 million
2041
Introduction of advertising implants
2042
Apex donates propagandistic digital books to remaining public libraries
2043
Internet Archive and other open knowledge projects are forced underground
2043
Increasing numbers of public schoolchildren receive ad implants
2044
The final physical copy of George Orwell's "1984" is destroyed
2044
Activist makes Orwell's "1984" available to the public
2045
Orwell activist is sentenced to life in prison in federal court
2046
Mass demonstrations are staged by the "data-poor"
2046
Driven underground, activists for the Internet Archive organize resistance

Time travel to 2046 on Twitter

Imagining utopia: #EmpoweringLibraries

We can find a better way forward.

The Internet Archive is facing a lawsuit by a cartel of corporate publishers that threatens the age-old right of libraries to buy, preserve and lend materials to the public.

To fight for a world where libraries and learners are empowered through access to information, join our #EmpoweringLibraries campaign.

Find out more

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