Frustration often follows.
Publishers are tightening gatekeeping tools that flag suspicious behaviour and block automated access. You might see a warning, an email address to contact, or a demand to verify activity. The aim is to deter scraping and large-scale data mining. The effect can trip up ordinary visitors who browse fast, use a VPN, or share Wi‑Fi at work.
Why you’re seeing ‘help us verify you as a real visitor’
News Group Newspapers, the company behind The Sun, warns that it bars automated access to its service, including text and data mining for AI, machine learning and large language models. The notice makes clear that this restriction sits in its terms and conditions. It also provides two email routes: one for commercial licensing and another for readers who believe they were misidentified.
Automated access, collection and text/data mining of publisher content are restricted by terms. If you need commercial permission, ask first. If you are a real reader who was flagged, contact support.
These pages appear when detection tools judge your behaviour to be robotic. That may happen if requests fire too quickly, if your browser blocks expected scripts, or if your network sends multiple simultaneous page loads that resemble a crawler.
What triggers the robot alarm
Speed, patterns and shared networks
Anti-bot systems study your click rhythm, the pace of page loads, and the timing between requests. If you open dozens of stories in seconds from the same connection, you might mirror a scraper.
Workplaces, schools and shared homes often route traffic through a single IP address. If another person on the same connection runs a tool that fetches pages aggressively, your own browsing can get swept up in the block.
Browser signals that raise suspicion
- Disabled JavaScript or blocked cookies prevent normal page functions and break verification checks.
- Privacy extensions that randomise your fingerprint can look like a headless or automated browser.
- VPNs and proxies may route you through addresses associated with bots or prior abuse.
- Automated scrolling, keyboard macros and repeated refreshes mimic scripted behaviour.
- Unusual time zones or language headers that mismatch your location sometimes add to the risk score.
What publishers say you cannot do
No automated scraping, no mining
According to the notice, the company does not allow automated collection of its content. That includes text and data mining for AI systems. It points would‑be licensees to a dedicated email: [email protected]. Readers who think the system misread their activity can write to [email protected].
Want to use articles for commercial data projects or machine learning? Seek permission first via the publisher’s licensing channel.
The message reflects a wider shift. Many newsrooms now fence off their archives, adjust robots instructions and deploy detection that throttles high‑volume requests. They want to protect intellectual property, maintain ad revenues and preserve server capacity for genuine visitors.
How to prove you are human in minutes
Three steps that work
- Refresh your environment: disable your VPN or proxy, switch to a standard browser profile, and allow JavaScript and cookies. Then reload the page.
- Slow your pace: avoid rapid-fire tab bursts. Wait a few seconds between clicks so the system can track normal interactions.
- Reduce interference: pause aggressive privacy extensions on the site, close background tools that prefetch links, and stop automatic refreshers.
If the block persists, note the time, your IP address, and a screenshot of the message. Contact the support email provided in the notice and explain what you were doing when the block appeared. If you represent a company that needs structured access for analytics, write to the commercial address and outline your exact use case, volume, and frequency.
The legal and commercial backdrop
Publishers rely on terms of service to curb bulk access and the reuse of their content without a licence. Their position has sharpened as AI developers seek large corpuses to train systems. Restricting automated readers protects rights, but it also creates friction for audiences who arrive via search, social feeds or shared links.
Copyright and data mining rules vary by jurisdiction. In the UK, research exemptions exist in narrow contexts and do not grant carte blanche for commercial scraping. Contracts can set conditions for access, and sites can enforce them with technical measures. That’s why permission pathways and support channels now sit front and centre on verification pages.
What this means for readers and small teams
If you run a newsletter, a community forum or a media monitoring desk, your tools may fetch links quickly and in parallel. That can resemble a bot even when you intend only to keep colleagues informed. You will likely need to throttle requests or shift to a licensed feed.
| Activity | Typical status |
|---|---|
| Reading articles in a browser with cookies and scripts enabled | Allowed, may face occasional verification |
| Opening many tabs in seconds from a shared office IP | Likely flagged; slow down or stagger requests |
| Automated scraping for AI or machine learning | Prohibited without licence |
| Commercial monitoring of headlines at scale | Usually requires permission |
| Non-technical readers using a VPN from a blocked range | May be misidentified; contact support |
Signs you were misidentified and what to send support
You likely hit a false positive if only one site blocks you, your partner on the same Wi‑Fi can load pages, and the block disappears when you switch to mobile data. The support team needs signals that help them whitelist regular users and refine filters. Send them concise details.
- Date and time of the block and the full text of the message.
- Your public IP address and whether you used a VPN or corporate network.
- Your browser version, device type and any privacy tools you paused.
- A short account of what you were doing when the warning appeared.
Practical tips to avoid future lockouts
Use a mainstream browser with an up‑to‑date version. Allow first‑party cookies and keep JavaScript on for news sites you trust. If your work needs privacy tools, create a separate browser profile with lighter settings for reading. When you open a long reading list, load five tabs, read them, then fetch the next batch. That pattern looks human and rarely triggers a block.
Teams that rely on automated checks should consider licensed APIs or feeds. These deliver structured data with predictable usage limits. They also reduce the risk of sudden blocks that derail dashboards or alerts ten minutes before a meeting.
Extra context for power users
Rate limits are often measured in requests per minute per IP. A safe starting point for shared networks is single‑digit requests per minute, with short random delays between calls. Headless browsers commonly trigger higher scrutiny; if you must use them for accessibility or testing, set a human‑like interval and respect robots instructions where applicable.
Consent management also plays a role. If you reject all cookies, some sites still require a basic consent cookie to remember that choice. Blocking it can trap you in a loop. Keep the minimal functional cookies that store consent states, and your next visit will load more smoothly.
Great primer—saved me from rage-refreshing.
Apparently my “open 30 tabs before coffee” routine screams robot. Guess I should definately slow my clicks. Any way to tell when I’m near the rate limit without getting zapped?