Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. We strongly encourage all customers to consult a qualified attorney.
Automated web data collection, also known as web scraping, refers to the process of extracting data from websites using software rather than manual browsing. It plays a critical role in a variety of use cases, from generative AI, market intelligence, and financial modeling, to academic research and SEO. However, there are different ways to perform web scraping and it is important to perform it in a responsible and compliant manner.
To assess the legal position associated with web scraping, you should evaluate four main factors:
- the type of data being collected
- the geographic location of the website
- how the data is collected, and
- how the data will be used
This article will walk through these considerations and the legal landscape around web scraping to help you better understand the legal landscape surrounding the increasingly common practice of automated data collection.
Bright Data’s Legal Victories
Bright Data has been at the forefront of the legal debate around automated web data collection, winning two major cases against both Meta and X. Bright Data’s role in these legal challenges has been instrumental in defining clear boundaries and securing the right to access public data for the benefit of the entire industry. In both cases, Meta and X argued that their terms of service were like a binding contract, and that anyone who visits their platforms are automatically bound by the terms.
In Meta v. Bright Data, Meta accused Bright Data of violating its Terms of Service by collecting data from its platforms. The court found that because Bright Data only collected data from public accounts (as opposed to those that are only visible after making an account with Meta), Meta’s terms do not apply to or prohibit Bright Data’s automated scraping of publicly available data while logged off.
In X Corp. v. Bright Data, X alleged that Bright Data’s data collection activities violated its Terms of Use, but the court dismissed X’s claims, ruling that its claims were preempted by the Copyright Act. The Court also held that if it applied X’s terms to the Bright Data’s scraping, it would be protecting content that isn’t otherwise subject to copyright protection.
What Data Am I Collecting?
The law regulating data collection is first and foremost content specific. In other words, whether you are scraping public data, news articles, personal information, or facial scans will materially impact the type of law that applies to your collection.
Is it publicly available data?
Bright Data only collects publicly available data. Recent legal decisions indicate that collecting public, logged-out web data is legally distinct from accessing private or authenticated data. Rulings such as hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn and Meta v. Bright Data have established that accessing logged-out, publicly available data does not constitute unauthorized access under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) nor a breach of contract for those who have not affirmatively assented to account-based terms.
While privacy frameworks impose legal responsibilities on the processing of personal data (but do not prohibit them), many privacy laws, including the CCPA, expressly exclude “publicly available information” from their scope. This carve-out typically encompasses data that is lawfully made available from government records or that which a business has a reasonable basis to believe is lawfully made available to the general public by the consumer or from widely distributed media.
Is the data copyright protected?
Pure facts, such as prices, product names, weather data, or stock levels, are generally exceptions to copyright protection. In most countries, copyright protects only original, creative expression rather than facts, ideas, and processes.
Examples generally outside copyright protection:
- Product prices
- Stock availability
- Business names
- Short factual listings
- Basic contact information
For example, a recent July 2026 opinion in Google v. SerpApi clarified that Google’s search results were not protected by copyright.
Is it fair use?
Copyright law protects original works of creation such as text, images, music, and even software, by giving creators exclusive rights to use, reproduce, and distribute their works.
In the United States, the doctrine of fair use provides a framework for assessing whether a particular use of content is lawful, even if copyrighted. Deciding whether something is fair use is highly fact sensitive, but ultimately considers the following four factors:
- Purpose and character of the use, including whether it is “transformative” and commercial;
- Nature of the copyrighted work;
- Amount and substantiality copied;
- Effect on the market for the original or licensed derivatives.
Similar but distinct doctrines exist in other jurisdictions.
Is it personal data?
Data privacy laws govern how personal data (also called personal information) is collected, used, shared, and sold. Personal data is often defined as any data relating to an identifiable individual. In many jurisdictions, privacy law requires a lawful basis for processing personal data, and in general, imposes compliance requirements on both the party that collects the data and receives the data. Any collection of personal data should be done in compliance with applicable data privacy laws and regulations.
Is it sensitive personal data?
Privacy laws include heightened protections for personal data that is deemed “sensitive.” The definition of sensitive personal data varies depending on the jurisdiction but includes attributes such as health status, religious beliefs, and political affiliations. This data typically requires explicit consent from the data subject before processing. In most cases, publicly available data does not contain sensitive data, and Bright Data only collects publicly available data!
Is it children’s data?
Data relating to minors is strictly regulated by laws such as COPPA in the U.S. and age-appropriate design codes globally. Scraping platforms that inadvertently or systematically collect children’s information face severe penalties and mandatory deletion orders. Recent regulatory focus emphasizes that companies must implement “age-gating” or data-filtering mechanisms when scraping platforms frequented by younger audiences. Bright Data prohibits collection of data related to children and employs technical measures to flag and remove such data.
Is it biometric data?
Scraping images for facial recognition or biometric identification is considered high risk. Even if images are public, extracting biometric templates without consent can violate specialized statutes like Illinois’ BIPA. Contemporary legal standards increasingly treat the automated extraction of these data points as a “collection” that triggers immediate notice and consent requirements, regardless of the source’s public availability.
Where is the Data Located?
Even though the internet may seem borderless, legal authority is typically determined by factors such as the residency of the data subjects or the specific location of the processing activities. There is currently no overarching statute that bans the automated collection of publicly accessible web data as such. Instead, each country has a patchwork of laws that regulate specific types of data and specific activities that are used to obtain that data. There are important nuances between the types of law described above (copyright, privacy law, etc.), so it’s important to consult legal counsel.
Does the data include any personal data of European individuals?
The EU has signalled that scraping personal data for the purpose of training generative AI is subject to the GDPR, and as such, requires strict adherence to principles such as purpose limitation, transparency, and data minimization. Bright Data is fully committed to complying with the GDPR and has implemented a robust compliance program to honor EU data subject rights.
How Is the Data Collected?
The method that you use to access and collect data online has a significant impact on the risk and lawfulness of the use case. Cybercrime laws, like the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) in the U.S., generally prohibit unauthorized access to “computer systems”, though courts have increasingly distinguished between public and private data. Similar principles exist internationally, such as the UK’s Computer Misuse Act, which also regulates unauthorized access and can overlap with privacy frameworks when personal data is involved. Consequently, the legal risk shifts based on whether the data is publicly available or restricted behind technical barriers like logins or paywalls. To ensure compliance with such laws, Bright Data only collects data that is accessible to the public.
Is the data only accessible through an account?
Public, logged-out web data that is freely accessible to anyone with an internet browser and is generally legally permitted, subject to compliance with applicable law and ethical principles, such as respecting rate limits and avoiding sensitive data.
Conversely, logged-in or account-based scraping presents a higher risk. When a platform requires account registration, users typically enter into clickwrap obligations that explicitly prohibit scraping. Exceeding these contractual permissions, using deceptive tactics like fake or purchased accounts, or accessing data that is not available to the general public can increase legal risk.
What about robots.txt?
A robots.txt file is a website’s set of instructions to web crawlers indicating which parts of the site may be accessed or indexed. Robots.txt is not itself legally enforceable and was never intended to be a legal framework. For example, in a recent case, a federal court in the United States found that robots.txt does not constitute a technological protection measure under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) because it doesn’t effectively control access to the lawn any more than a “keep off the grass” lawn sign keeps visitors off a lawn (Ziff Davis, Inc. v. OpenAI, Inc.).
Can I use a proxy network to obtain the data?
Using proxy networks for web data collection is a standard practice for gathering public information. In X Corp. v. Bright Data the court held that proxy use is not inherently deceptive and that internet users generally have no affirmative duty to identify themselves with a specific IP address. However, proxy networks must be ethically sourced, which means ensuring that proxy providers maintain high compliance standards, including proper “Know Your Customer” (KYC) protocols.
How Is the Data Used?
The legal risk associated with web scraping often hinges on how the data is used once it is collected. In highly regulated sectors, utilizing scraped personal data for decision-making in employment, housing, or credit can trigger sector-specific laws like the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) or the GDPR’s automated decision-making rules. Bright Data uses a combination of contractual and technical measures to promote ethical usage of the data it collects.
Best-Practice Checklist
At Bright Data, we adhere to the highest standards of data collection. We encourage all users to follow our lead by adopting these industry-leading best practices to ensure ethical and sustainable data collection.
- Collect public, logged-out data.
- Don’t scrape behind logins, paywalls, or technical access controls without legal approval.
- Don’t create fake accounts, credential misuse, or deceptive access.
- Always use reasonable rate limits.
- Never cause server load or degradation.
- Collect only the minimum amount of data needed.
- Conduct privacy reviews for personal data.
- Don’t collect sensitive personal data without consent.
- Honor valid deletion, opt-out, and takedown requests.
- Use Bright Data’s ethically sourced proxies.
- Reassess legal risk for AI training and regulated-use cases.
- Conduct vendor due diligence.
- Keep legal review records.
