There used to be a waitlist to borrow a book from the Internet Archive’s Open Library programme before March 2020 since it used a “controlled digital lending” method. The Internet Archive removed these limitations when the epidemic struck to make it simpler for people to obtain reading material while stranded at home. The Copyright Alliance immediately criticised the attempt. The Internet Archive was also sued in June 2020 for allegedly allowing “willful mass copyright infringement” by Hachette, HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, and John Wiley & Sons. In the same month, the Internet Archive also prematurely ended the National Emergency Program.
