At Terros, we develop custom solutions for web, mobile... and also for automated data extraction (scraping).
A common question from our clients: "Is scraping legal?"
Here is our clear and documented answer.
🔍 What is scraping?
Web scraping refers to the automation of collecting publicly visible data from websites. Unlike hacking or intrusion, it simply involves reading information already accessible to a human user in their browser.
It is a widely used technique: search engines, price comparators, monitoring tools, AI assistants... depend on it daily.
⚖️ Is scraping legal?
Short answer: scraping is legal in many cases, provided certain rules are respected.
Here are the legal principles to know:
1. Public data can be extracted
In Europe, case law regularly confirms that extracting publicly visible data is not prohibited by default, as long as:
there is no circumvention of restricted access (e.g., private space, password),
the data is not protected by specific rights (e.g., copyrighted work),
the use remains fair and proportionate.
👉 Example: it is legal to scrape listings from a public site if they are visible without login and you do not reproduce the entire content under your own brand.
2. Respect for copyright and parasitism
You must not reproduce a protected work (original text, structured database).
You must avoid any parasitic behavior: copying massively without creating added value can be considered unfair.
3. Scraping must comply with GDPR
If the collected data contains personal data, then GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) applies. This implies:
A legal basis for collecting this data (legitimate interest possible in some cases),
Limitation of uses (no resale or unjustified profiling),
Informing data subjects if possible.
4. Scraping must not harm the target site
Some sites implement technical protections (robots.txt file, frequency limits, captchas, IP blocking) to regulate or deter automated extraction. Aggressively or repeatedly bypassing these protections can be considered an attack on automated data processing systems (STAD) — a criminal offense under French law (article 323-1 of the Penal Code), punishable by 2 years in prison and a €60,000 fine.
At Terros, we have implemented an ethical and responsible approach to scraping, inspired by web standards (Googlebot, search engines, etc.):
We actively monitor response rates and errors to automatically stop in case of alerts (slowdown, 429 Too Many Requests, etc.).
We respect robots.txt when relevant.
We use random delays (sleep + random) between requests to mimic normal human behavior.
We limit access frequency to avoid overloading the remote server.
✅ In summary: scraping can be perfectly legal if properly framed
📩 Questions?
We understand these topics can seem technical. Our team is here to advise and protect you both legally and technically.
➡️ Contact us to discuss your project, with confidence.