5 ms·

Is Web Scraping Legal?

33 points by mnmkng 5y ago

itisit 5y ago
Clickbait title. Begs a question that needn’t be asked. Is chewing gum legal?
- mnmkng 5y ago
  Sadly not a lot of people share this opinion.
  - dustinls 5y ago
    I agree that currently chewing gum is legal, however I do believe that chewing gum loudly shouldn't be.
- rad_gruchalski 5y ago
  Careful with such “obvious statements “. Chewing gum is illegal in Singapore with an exception for therapeutic, dental, and nicotine chewing gum, which can be bought from a doctor or registered pharmacist. The answer is “it depends”.
  - itisit 5y ago
    It would be exhausting to preface most statements with "Police states aside,".
    - rad_gruchalski 5y ago
      Does this apply to a country in which the police can seize money from the public during a traffic stop on a vague suspicion of it being illicit, and keep it with impunity? Country where people are advised “do not talk to the police”? Standards are different around the world, you know…
      - yaitsyaboi 5y ago
        Hehe as a guy who thinks of himself as lucky to have been born an American, this was hilarious
        rad_gruchalski 5y ago
        I like the US very much and enjoy visiting the country more and more every time I come over. But let's be honest, some things could be better. Every place in the world has issues. I mean, it's illegal to bring a Kinder Surprise to the US!
Cypher 5y ago
Is note taking piracy?
- whoomp12342 5y ago
  depends on the note that you are taking. is it ethical to use a spyglass and take note of someones combinations to the lock for entry of their home?
  - goatcode 5y ago
    You wouldn't download a house!
kdtop 5y ago
I found the article overall useful. It seems to me that this issue is still not completely resolved, esp world-wide. The author gives disclaimer that they are not a lawyer, and then give what seems like their opinions. They give a scattering of references to court cases. But it seems they could have done a better job of giving proof for their claims. (UPDATE: The latter part of the article does better than the first.)
- mnmkng 5y ago
  The author here. I actually am a lawyer. I just wanted to make it clear that I'm not "your" lawyer and therefore can't give advice on your specific use-case. Thanks for feedback. Might want to clarify that.
fairytale 5y ago
Why shouldn't it be legal? When you think a bit better about it, it's about the same as regular web browsing. Just automated or scripted. I don't think there is much that can be done to fully prevent it either, so.
- ebb_earl_co 5y ago
  > ... it's about the same as regular web browsing. Is this how youtube-dl was able to get out of the DMCA takedown? By saying that it's just acting on the links in the public HTML of YouTube?
- cyberbanjo 5y ago
  Wasn't half of weev's charge for unauthorized access related to him scripting up automated GET requests? It's not clear to me that it is definitely legal IANAL
Havoc 5y ago
Not super excited about this reaches very broad conclusions about legality while really only considering two jurisdictions - US and EU.

33 points by mnmkng 5y ago

itisit 5y ago

Clickbait title. Begs a question that needn’t be asked. Is chewing gum legal?

mnmkng 5y ago
Sadly not a lot of people share this opinion.
- dustinls 5y ago
  I agree that currently chewing gum is legal, however I do believe that chewing gum loudly shouldn't be.
rad_gruchalski 5y ago
Careful with such “obvious statements “. Chewing gum is illegal in Singapore with an exception for therapeutic, dental, and nicotine chewing gum, which can be bought from a doctor or registered pharmacist. The answer is “it depends”.
- itisit 5y ago
  It would be exhausting to preface most statements with "Police states aside,".
  - rad_gruchalski 5y ago
    Does this apply to a country in which the police can seize money from the public during a traffic stop on a vague suspicion of it being illicit, and keep it with impunity? Country where people are advised “do not talk to the police”? Standards are different around the world, you know…
    - yaitsyaboi 5y ago
      Hehe as a guy who thinks of himself as lucky to have been born an American, this was hilarious
      - rad_gruchalski 5y ago
        I like the US very much and enjoy visiting the country more and more every time I come over. But let's be honest, some things could be better. Every place in the world has issues. I mean, it's illegal to bring a Kinder Surprise to the US!

Cypher 5y ago

Is note taking piracy?

whoomp12342 5y ago
depends on the note that you are taking. is it ethical to use a spyglass and take note of someones combinations to the lock for entry of their home?
- goatcode 5y ago
  You wouldn't download a house!

kdtop 5y ago

I found the article overall useful. It seems to me that this issue is still not completely resolved, esp world-wide. The author gives disclaimer that they are not a lawyer, and then give what seems like their opinions. They give a scattering of references to court cases. But it seems they could have done a better job of giving proof for their claims. (UPDATE: The latter part of the article does better than the first.)

mnmkng 5y ago
The author here. I actually am a lawyer. I just wanted to make it clear that I'm not "your" lawyer and therefore can't give advice on your specific use-case. Thanks for feedback. Might want to clarify that.

fairytale 5y ago

Why shouldn't it be legal? When you think a bit better about it, it's about the same as regular web browsing. Just automated or scripted. I don't think there is much that can be done to fully prevent it either, so.

ebb_earl_co 5y ago
> ... it's about the same as regular web browsing. Is this how youtube-dl was able to get out of the DMCA takedown? By saying that it's just acting on the links in the public HTML of YouTube?
cyberbanjo 5y ago
Wasn't half of weev's charge for unauthorized access related to him scripting up automated GET requests? It's not clear to me that it is definitely legal IANAL

Havoc 5y ago

Not super excited about this reaches very broad conclusions about legality while really only considering two jurisdictions - US and EU.