US-based Internet Archive moves to Canada amid fears of restrictions under Trump presidency

CLINTON supporters are not the only ones in denial of the Trump result - the entire Internet Archive is plotting a move to Canada.

President-elect Donald Trump said he uses email “very rarely”. Picture: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File.

IT SEEMS celebrities are not the only ones looking over the border longingly, with the entire Internet Archive plotting a move to Canada.

The US based non-profit is appealing for donations to establish a digital archive across the border amid fears over greater restrictions under a Trump Presidency.

In a blog post, the group explained it would need millions of dollars to complete the move which it felt was necessary in the climate of surveillance and censorship.

“On November 9th in America, we woke up to a new administration promising radical change. It was a firm reminder that institutions like ours, built for the long-term, need to design for change,” it said.

“For us, it means keeping our cultural materials safe, private and perpetually accessible. It means preparing for a Web that may face greater restrictions.”

“It means serving patrons in a world in which government surveillance is not going away; indeed it looks like it will increase.”

The Canadian Immigration website crashed as the election result became clear. Pictured, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Picture: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP.

The outfit uses journalists to run a fact checking source on political advertisements and also operates the Open Library and Wayback Machine — a digital archive of more than 279 billion web pages saved in order to create a digital version of the past.

It said the move is just the latest in a series of events libraries have had to face including earthquakes and repressive regimes.

President-elect Trump has sparked fears about crackdowns on freedom of expression with his pledge to call on Bill Gates to “close that internet up” on the campaign trail as a way of stopping radicalisation online.

He has also referred to it as “the cyber” and said he uses email “very rarely”.