The News/Media Alliance, a trade association behind major news publishers, announced that it has “successfully secured” the removal of 12ft.io, a website that helped users bypass paywalls online. Still, in an ironic twist, Millar began asking users to pay for a subscription to 12ft.io to help cover the cost of the tool in 2022. In its announcement, News/Media Alliance says 12ft.io “offered illegal circumvention technology” that allowed users to access copyrighted content without paying for it. The News Media Alliance recently called Google’s AI Mode “theft.” (Like many chatbots, Google’s AI Mode eliminates the need to visit a website, starving publishers of the pageviews they need to be compensated for their work.) “Taking down paywall bypassers is an essential part of ensuring we have a healthy and sustainable information ecosystem.”Disclosure: The Verge’s parent company, Vox Media, is a member of the News/Media Alliance.