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So to be clear, is it true to say that under no circumstances may a competitor access an API without it being unethical behavior? It seems like every business w

So to be clear, is it true to say that under no circumstances may a competitor access an API without it being unethical behavior? It seems like every business will have a ToS clause to cover that, so this is an interesting moral question. Assuming it's unethical, if you were asked at your company to build a script that accesses a competitor's API, what should you do? Isn't it difficult to claim in general that collecting data using a competitor's services is inherently unethical?

eridius 10y ago
If you're using a competitor's API in a way the API was intended to be used, it's probably OK, even if your motivation is to gain intelligence. But when you're breaking the ToS or otherwise doing things it wasn't intended to do, that's a problem.
- sillysaurus3 10y ago
  Hmm, I see. Is it possible to think of a single example where you could use a competitor's API in a way they intend, but also at a scale large enough to be useful from an intelligence perspective? If there isn't one, it seems like the argument again reduces down to "It's never okay for a competitor to use an API," which could be problematic.
  - jsjohnst 10y ago
    IANAL, but using Lyft's API to see pricing and availability (to model your pricing and/or where drivers are in abundance) seems at minimum in a grey area. Using it to de-anonymize drivers and try to poach them, feels like crossing the line to me.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
jsjohnst 10y ago
Eridius answered the first part, so I'll tackle the second part. What you should do depends on many factors. First and foremost, is the access you are doing strictly forbidden? You'd be surprised how often it's not. Next you'd need to assess the intent of the access. Is it for a legitimate fair use reason (even if forbidden, aka it's a judgment call if you feel you could legitimately make a case it shouldn't be forbidden)? Ultimately the above two don't matter, it all comes down to a decision of "is keeping your job" more important than "doing what is ethical/legal/whatever"?

eridius 10y ago

If you're using a competitor's API in a way the API was intended to be used, it's probably OK, even if your motivation is to gain intelligence. But when you're breaking the ToS or otherwise doing things it wasn't intended to do, that's a problem.

sillysaurus3 10y ago
Hmm, I see. Is it possible to think of a single example where you could use a competitor's API in a way they intend, but also at a scale large enough to be useful from an intelligence perspective? If there isn't one, it seems like the argument again reduces down to "It's never okay for a competitor to use an API," which could be problematic.
- jsjohnst 10y ago
  IANAL, but using Lyft's API to see pricing and availability (to model your pricing and/or where drivers are in abundance) seems at minimum in a grey area. Using it to de-anonymize drivers and try to poach them, feels like crossing the line to me.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]

jsjohnst 10y ago

Eridius answered the first part, so I'll tackle the second part. What you should do depends on many factors. First and foremost, is the access you are doing strictly forbidden? You'd be surprised how often it's not. Next you'd need to assess the intent of the access. Is it for a legitimate fair use reason (even if forbidden, aka it's a judgment call if you feel you could legitimately make a case it shouldn't be forbidden)? Ultimately the above two don't matter, it all comes down to a decision of "is keeping your job" more important than "doing what is ethical/legal/whatever"?