Why 1 in 8 readers are blocked: 7 red flags making you look like a bot — and 5 quick fixes

You clicked, the page froze, and a warning popped up. It is not personal. It is the new normal online.

Publishers are tightening checks on visitors as automated tools surge. Security filters now flag patterns, not people, and that sweep can catch genuine readers. New rules also shut the door on scraping for AI training, making misfires feel sharper and more frequent.

Why you are seeing the ‘are you real?’ screen

Websites watch for behaviour that resembles a script rather than a person. A wave of rapid requests, a browser with key features disabled, or a network that masks your location can all flip the switch. When that happens, a block page appears and asks you to verify yourself or seek help.

News publishers now prohibit automated access, collection, and text/data mining of their content, including for AI, machine learning, and LLMs.

These controls guard against spam, scraping and fraud. They also protect the value of original reporting. The same filters sometimes misread a busy human as a bot. That is why you might see a stern message even when you are just reading the news.

Signals that look automated

• Dozens of page requests in seconds, often from the same device or tab.
• Blocked JavaScript or cookies, which prevent normal site checks from running.
• A headless or unusual browser fingerprint that mimics automation tools.
• VPNs, proxies or shared networks that hide or jumble location and IP data.
• Extensions that strip ads or tracking, altering how pages load and behave.
• Copying large volumes of text quickly, which resembles harvesting.
• Opening many articles in parallel, which looks like batch crawling.

Common triggers on legitimate devices

Regular readers get snared too. Old browsers miss verification scripts. Corporate laptops route traffic through strict firewalls. Students share campus Wi‑Fi, and one person’s tool can flag every user on that network. Even a flaky mobile signal can create error spikes that resemble automated retries.

What News Group Newspapers says

News Group Newspapers states that automated access and data mining of its content are not allowed. That includes use cases for AI systems and large language models. The policy sits in the terms and conditions. Commercial users can request permission and licensing.

For commercial use enquiries, write to: [email protected].

The company acknowledges that security systems sometimes misinterpret people as bots. If you believe that has happened to you, the support team can investigate.

Legitimate readers who were blocked can contact customer support at: [email protected].

How to prove you are human in under 60 seconds

• Refresh once. Many checks reset on a clean load.
• Turn on JavaScript and cookies in your browser settings.
• Disable your VPN or proxy temporarily and try again.
• Close extra tabs, then open a single article at a time.
• Update your browser to the latest version.
• Pause aggressive extensions (ad blockers, privacy filters) for the site.
• Complete any on‑screen challenge or tick‑box promptly.
• If the page names a support address, email it with your IP, timestamp, and a brief description.

If the block persists

Send a short message to the support address with the time of the block, your approximate location, and the steps you tried. Include the exact wording of the error page, if possible. Do not send screenshots with personal data. Keep the VPN off while they test access. If you are seeking a rights‑managed feed or archive access, use the commercial licensing contact, not customer support.

Customer support helps with false positives. Licensing teams handle any request that involves copying, crawling or reuse at scale.

The bigger picture: AI training, scraping bans and the law

Publishers across the UK now spell out bans on automated collection. They cite contract terms, database rights and unauthorised extraction. AI developers face more friction as outlets restrict training on news archives. That posture reflects two pressures: protecting paid content and ensuring journalism is not repackaged by third parties without consent.

Some tools claim “fair dealing” or similar exceptions. In practice, website terms and technical barriers shape the real‑world limits. Organisations that need regular access often negotiate licences that set rate limits, permitted uses, and audit rules. This creates a traceable path for commercial reuse and helps separate legitimate partners from scrapers.

Commercial licences and newsroom priorities

Licensing routes allow research projects, monitoring services and enterprise customers to ingest content lawfully. They also control volumes to avoid overwhelming sites. If your team needs structured access, you should expect identity checks, API keys, and specific scopes. Direct email requests to the address provided for permissions to accelerate review.

What readers can expect next

Expect more silent checks and fewer puzzles. Verification will lean on timing signals, device cryptography and low‑friction prompts. Some sites will introduce sign‑in walls to tie visits to accounts rather than IP addresses. Others will rely on privacy‑preserving tokens that confirm a session without tracking your identity.

False positives will not vanish. Network congestion, shared hotspots and privacy tools will keep adding noise. The fastest route to a fix remains simple: keep your setup standard when you hit a roadblock, and send a clear note to support with the details they request.

Extra context for readers and teams

What “data mining” means on news sites

Data mining covers automated collection or analysis that goes beyond a normal visit. That includes scraping many pages quickly, extracting text at scale, and feeding articles into training datasets. Manual reading, quoting short excerpts with attribution, and linking are different activities with different rules.

A quick self‑check you can run

• Can you load the site in a fresh browser profile with no extensions? If yes, an add‑on likely caused the block.
• Does the issue vanish when you turn off your VPN? If yes, your exit IP might be flagged.
• Do other people on your network see the same error? If yes, your shared IP may have hit a rate limit.

Risks and advantages to weigh

Privacy tools reduce tracking, but they can impair site features and trigger blocks. Allowing scripts and cookies on a trusted news site improves performance and reduces false flags. Signing in adds convenience and comment access for some outlets, though it ties activity to an account. Families sharing one router may run into rate limits; spacing out page loads can help avoid that.

If you need permissioned access at scale, use the commercial route. If you are a reader who was blocked, use customer support. Mixing the two slows both replies.