Do you have web scraping projects, but have questions about the legality of this practice? In this article, we will take a look at whether Is web scraping legal or not?.
Web scraping is not illegal in itself.
the web scraping consists of automatically extracting data and content from web pages. As a general rule, web scraping is not illegal, as long as you scrape public data.
However, the law does apply to private information and content on the web.
👉 Indeed, the collection, storage, and use of this data are governed by the copyright, but also by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
What factors make web scraping illegal?
📜 Terms and Conditions of Use (TCU)
Websites have the right to set rules regarding access to and content on their pages. You can find these rules in the terms and conditions of use (TCU) of the site.
The Terms of Use serve as legal contracts between the website and its users: if they state that web scraping is prohibited, then collecting data and information from the website is illegal!
Therefore, it is best to consult the terms and conditions of use of websites before starting to scrape data from them.
🛡️ Intellectual property rights
Copyright protects original creations, including databases. So if a website is copyright protected, extracting its content without authorization may constitute an infringement of these rights.
In France, Article L.112-3 of the Intellectual Property Code protects databases from unauthorized web scraping : collection and processing without explicit consent of this data constitutes an offense.
👉 Take the time to do your research before launching your scraping project and scraping databases, regardless of which websites you are interested in.
🔒 Personal data and GDPR
In Europe, web scraping of personal data and information (names, emails, etc.) is strictly regulated by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
You cannot collect, store, or use this data without the clear consent of the individuals concerned. Otherwise, this amounts to illegal web scraping! You then risk severe penaltiesincluding hefty fines (several million euros for companies).
🚫 Impairment of the proper functioning of the site
You plan to collect bulk data from a website that accepts website scraping? Be careful, though, because the intensive scraping is considered illegal.
This is because this type of web scraping tends to overload the site's server. However, this could prevent it from functioning properly. As such, excessive scraping can also be perceived as a denial-of-service attack (DoS), which may result in legal penalties.
Rest assured, there are tools available for scraping within the rules. Scraping platforms such as Bright Data offer professional and supervised solutions for web scraping.
What are the best practices for legal web scraping?
1. Respect the robots.txt file
👉 Websites often include a robots.txt file which indicates which pages can be crawled by robots (including scrapers). It is important to comply with this protocol to avoid violations when scraping this site.
2. Limit the request rate
👉 To avoid disrupting the site's server, you must limit the frequency of requests during scraping. This is possible thanks to specialized tools such as those used in Python web scraping. With these tools, you can control the time between each request.
3. Identify yourself clearly via the User-Agent
👉 When scraping, it's best to’use a clear User-Agent in your HTTP requests. This allows site administrators to know that a script (and not a human user) is accessing the content of web pages.
The use of a Identifiable User-Agent is beneficial for both scrapers and websites. This:
- ☑️ Improves transparency
- ☑️ Facilitates dialogue in case of problems
- ☑️ Limits the risk of blockages
4. Focus on public data
✅ To avoid legal risks during web scraping, it is best to scrape only publicly available data. This includes: information visible to everyone, without prior registration or login (e.g., texts or data displayed on a public website).
❌ Conversely, avoid extracting personal data and information. password protected.
5. Use APIs if available
👉 Many websites offer Web scraping API that allow their data to be scraped in a way that legal and structured.
Using these APIs is therefore the safest method and the one that best complies with each site's rules. So don't hesitate to use them for your web scraping projects.
Is web scraping legal in France?
In France, the National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties (CNIL) ensures the protection of personal data. The CNIL may penalize web scraping practices that do not comply with legal obligations relating to the collection of personal data on websites.
The legal consequences are as follows:
- ❌ Civil penalties: In the event of a violation of the terms of use or copyright, rights holders may claim damages from you. damages.
- ❌ Criminal penalties: Illegal collection of personal data can result in severe penalties under the GDPR. Be careful, because the’Article 226-16 of the French Criminal Code indicates that the offense is punishable by five years' imprisonment and of €300,000 fine.
In France, web scraping is therefore not illegal in itself, provided that the relevant regulations relating to copyright, the GDPR, the general terms and conditions of use of websites, and intellectual property rights are complied with.
As you can see, web scraping is completely legal as long as you use it responsibly and in accordance with applicable laws. If in doubt, it is advisable to consult a lawyer specializing in this field.
Please leave a comment if you have any questions about the legality of your web scraping project.
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