tech

January 17, 2026

Judge orders Anna’s Archive to delete scraped data; no one thinks it will comply

WorldCat operator hopes default judgment will convince web hosts to take action.

Judge orders Anna’s Archive to delete scraped data; no one thinks it will comply

TL;DR

  • OCLC, operator of WorldCat, obtained a default judgment against Anna's Archive.
  • Anna's Archive is ordered to delete all WorldCat data and stop scraping.
  • OCLC alleged Anna's Archive hacked WorldCat.org and stole 2.2TB of data.
  • Anna's Archive, a shadow library, aims to preserve and widely distribute books, admitting to copyright violations.
  • The court granted default judgment on breach-of-contract and trespass-to-chattels claims.
  • The court rejected tortious-interference-with-contract and unjust enrichment claims.
  • The judgment permanently prohibits Anna's Archive from scraping, using, storing, or distributing WorldCat data.
  • Anna's Archive previously announced its use of WorldCat data to create a 'list of books that need to be preserved'.
  • OCLC filed the lawsuit in January 2024 after experiencing cyberattacks for approximately a year.
  • The case is not fully concluded, with OCLC required to file a status report on remaining claims.

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