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"Everyone has a right to access public data. And we believe that whether you are accessing that data by typing in a URL in a web browser, through a CURL request

"Everyone has a right to access public data. And we believe that whether you are accessing that data by typing in a URL in a web browser, through a CURL request, an RSS feed, a cached copy, or having someone read it to you aloud, does not change your right to access public data. " I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, but I believe this is, sadly, dead wrong. The infamous Computer Fraud and Abuse Act contains a provision barring not just unauthorized access to computer systems but also accessing such systems in a manner that exceeds authorized access. In other words, if you break terms of service on a website, you may be in violation of the CFAA. The ACLU last year filed suit to overturn this provision of CFAA, on the grounds that it chills research into civil rights violations, as well as academic research and journalism. https://www.aclu.org/cases/sandvig-v-sessions-challenge-cfaa-prohibition-uncovering-racial-discrimination-online https://www.aclu.org/cases/sandvig-v-sessions-challenge-cfaa...

fjabre 9y ago
The law is often wrong and written by the more fortunate in society. The data is publicly available. The reasons this should not be an issue are self evident. Google scrapes trillions of sites every second of every day. Where's the outrage in that sir? Or the legalities. Oh right the law doesn't apply to them. Just small indie devs. I don't hide behind legal speak and lawyers. I stand behind the truth of the matter. I'd say any legal argument against non-malicious scraping is dead wrong on moral and ethical grounds. Lawyers and powerful corporations will always try to stamp out the little guy to protect their precious trademark or data because their intellects are too dull and mediocre to compete with new entrants or innovations, so they call and cry about it to their lawyer instead. It's easier.
- mapgrep 9y ago
  Ya, I think the site should be perfectly legal (at least in terms of the scraping). For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure if you demand Google to stop indexing your site, it will comply. With robots.txt you can even ask them in an automated fashion. "Legal speak and lawyers" are how we hold our society together in a relatively peaceful and just fashion. Yes, we end up with bad laws, like CFAA, and some days I think the U.S. will just collapse in on itself. But it beats all the alternatives that have been seriously tried. Please remember, lawyers not only try and enforce the CFAA, but are the ones challenging it as well! PS Also I think this provision of CFAA is already being rolled back - though I assume there will be appeals - https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/08/court-rejects-linkedin-claim-that-unauthorized-scraping-is-hacking/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/08/court-rejects-li...

fjabre 9y ago

The law is often wrong and written by the more fortunate in society. The data is publicly available. The reasons this should not be an issue are self evident. Google scrapes trillions of sites every second of every day. Where's the outrage in that sir? Or the legalities. Oh right the law doesn't apply to them. Just small indie devs. I don't hide behind legal speak and lawyers. I stand behind the truth of the matter. I'd say any legal argument against non-malicious scraping is dead wrong on moral and ethical grounds. Lawyers and powerful corporations will always try to stamp out the little guy to protect their precious trademark or data because their intellects are too dull and mediocre to compete with new entrants or innovations, so they call and cry about it to their lawyer instead. It's easier.

mapgrep 9y ago
Ya, I think the site should be perfectly legal (at least in terms of the scraping). For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure if you demand Google to stop indexing your site, it will comply. With robots.txt you can even ask them in an automated fashion. "Legal speak and lawyers" are how we hold our society together in a relatively peaceful and just fashion. Yes, we end up with bad laws, like CFAA, and some days I think the U.S. will just collapse in on itself. But it beats all the alternatives that have been seriously tried. Please remember, lawyers not only try and enforce the CFAA, but are the ones challenging it as well! PS Also I think this provision of CFAA is already being rolled back - though I assume there will be appeals - https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/08/court-rejects-linkedin-claim-that-unauthorized-scraping-is-hacking/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/08/court-rejects-li...