Microsoft's Bing search engine blocked approximately 1.5 million independent websites hosted on Neocities in January 2026, removing them from search results without clear explanation. The mass de-indexing affects both the main neocities.org domain and all user subdomains, effectively hiding personal websites from Bing users and services that rely on Microsoft's search index.
Neocities founder Kyle Drake discovered the block when monitoring statistics showed Bing traffic dropping from about half a million daily visitors to zero. Speaking with Ars Technica, which first reported the story, Drake said he attempted "everything" to resolve the issue, including purchasing Bing advertisements to bypass automated support systems and reach a human representative.
Microsoft removed some inappropriate blocks after media reports, allowing the Neocities front page to reappear in search results. However, many subdomains that should rank well remain excluded, according to Drake.
The company has pointed to policy enforcement aimed at keeping low-quality or unsafe content out of Bing, but has not identified specific problems or communicated clearly with Neocities about why valid sites were blocked.
The situation highlights growing concerns about automated content moderation systems. Drake encountered what he described as an "all kinds of automated" support process through Bing's webmaster tools, where open tickets went unacknowledged. This automated approach left the indie web host unable to address what appears to be a blanket domain-level block. Microsoft has been working on automated content verification systems in other contexts, including partnerships to detect AI-generated deepfakes.
Founded in 2013 to archive the aesthetic spirit of GeoCities websites, Neocities hosts approximately 1.5 million independent websites. The vast majority are personal, artistic, educational, or experimental projects with no commercial or malicious intent, according to the company's January blog post about the block.
Other major search engines including Google continue to index Neocities sites normally. Drake has urged users not to rely on Bing or Bing-powered search engines, warning that blocked results could expose users to phishing risks if misleading sites surface in place of legitimate ones.
The block represents a significant visibility issue for independent web creators. Neocities sites, which often feature creative HTML designs reminiscent of 1990s web aesthetics, now face complete exclusion from Microsoft's search ecosystem without transparent justification or appeal mechanisms.
Microsoft has faced previous criticism for censoring or filtering search results in different regions. The Neocities situation raises broader questions about how search engines balance content moderation with preserving access to legitimate independent web content.
Neocities says it will update the public if Bing reverses its decision or engages meaningfully on remediation. Until then, the company cannot recommend Bing or Bing-powered search engines to its users, where even the official blog post about the block does not appear in search results.
