Canada can stop the Bad Bots Blitz

With bots now accounting for over half of all internet traffic, media advocates are calling on Canada to introduce legislation that forces automated crawlers to identify themselves

Posted Thursday, August 13, 2026 9:18 am

Paul Deegan

Stig Ørskov and Paul Deegan | WAN-IFRA and News Media Canada

Humans are now outnumbered on the internet. According to researchers, bots account for more than half of all internet traffic. The consequences of this development are starting to show.

A bad bot, or a stealth bot as it is also called, is a crawler that intentionally conceals or falsifies its identity or purpose, circumvents access controls or rights reservations, or impersonates human traffic. A new bipartisan proposal in the United States — the Stealth Bot Prohibition Act — starts from a simple principle: automated crawlers should say who they are and why they are visiting websites. It is an idea WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers unreservedly endorses and that lawmakers around the world should embrace.

For news publishers, the consequences of today’s bot invasion are increasingly serious.

Click here to read more.

Stig Ørskov is chief executive officer of WAN-IFRA (the World Association of News Publishers), representing 20,000 publications in more than 120 countries.

Paul Deegan is vice chair of WAN-IFRA’s Committee of Directors and president and CEO of News Media Canada.

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Canada can stop the Bad Bots Blitz

With bots now accounting for over half of all internet traffic, media advocates are calling on Canada to introduce legislation that forces automated crawlers to identify themselves

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