Is Scraping Legal?

At the house of Terros, we develop tailor-made solutions for the web, mobile... and also for automated data extraction (scraping).

A question often comes up among our customers: “Is scraping legal?”

Here is our clear and documented response.

🔍 What is scraping?

THE web scraping refers to the automation of data collection that is publicly visible on websites. Unlike hacking or intrusion, it only involves reading information that is already accessible to a human user in their browser.

It is a widely used technique: search engines, price comparison sites, monitoring tools, AI assistants, etc. depend on it daily.

⚖️ Is scraping legal?

The short answer: Scraping is legal in many cases, provided you follow certain rules.

Here are the legal principles to know:

1. Public data can be extracted

In Europe, case law regularly confirms that extraction of 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.: work protected by copyright),
  • use remains fair and proportionate.

👉 Example: It is legal to scrape ads from a public site if they are visible without logging in and you do not reproduce the entire content under your own brand.

➡️ Key case law :

  • Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), 15 January 2015, Ryanair Ltd v PR Aviation BV, C-30/14
    The CJEU considered that freely accessible data from a site cannot be protected by the sui generis right of databases, unless there is proof of a substantial investment.
    👉 This means scraping unprotected and publicly visible data is not illegal by nature.

2. Respect for copyright and parasitism

  • You must not not to reproduce a protected work (original text, structured database).
  • You must avoid any parasitic behavior : copying massively without creating added value can be considered unfair.

➡️ Reference :

  • Intellectual Property Code, articles L341-1 and following (sui generis right on databases)
  • Court of Cassation, Commercial Chamber, March 22, 2011, No. 09-70.833
    → The systematic recovery of data can constitute a act of unfair competition or of parasitism, depending on the context.

3. Scraping must comply with GDPR

If the collected data contains personal data, then the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) applies. This implies:

  • A legal basis for collecting this data (legitimate interest possible in certain cases),
  • A limitation of uses (no resale or unjustified profiling),
  • Informing the persons concerned if possible.

At [Name of your agency], we implement filters and practices that comply with GDPR, and support our clients on best practices.

➡️ References:

4. Scraping should not harm the target site

Some sites implement technical protections (file robots.txt, frequency capping, captchas, IP blocking) to regulate or deter automated mining. Aggressively or repeatedly circumventing these protections may be considered a attack on the automated data processing system (STAD) - A criminal offense in French law (article 323-1 of the Penal Code), punishable by 2 years in prison and a €60,000 fine.

➡️ But in practice, it all depends on how the scraping is done.

At the house of [Name of your agency], we have implemented an approach ethical and responsible for scraping, inspired by web standards (Googlebot, search engine, etc.):

We actively monitor response rates and errors to automatically stop if there is a warning signal (slowdown, 429 Too Many Requests, etc.).

We respect the robots.txt when relevant.

We use random delays (sleep + random) between requests to imitate normal human behavior.

We limit the frequency of access for avoid overloading the remote server.

👉 Result: our scripts are often more respectful of server resources than some human visitors, which can frantically reload a page, launch 20 tabs in parallel or use invasive plugins.

✅ In summary: scraping can be perfectly legal if it is well regulated

✅ Practical⚖️ Legality💡 Recommendation
Scrape data accessible without connection (e.g.: announcements, timetables, public catalogs)✔️ AuthorizedScraping is legal if the data is freely visible
Respect the technical limitations (robots.txt, speed, etc.)✔️ MandatoryImplement ethical scraping without overloading the site
Avoid the sensitive personal data (emails, private numbers, etc.) or process them in accordance with the GDPR✔️ If GDPR respectedFilter or anonymize data if necessary
Reproduce the entirety of a site or its protected content❌ RiskyDo not copy: extract, enrich, transform data

📩 Any questions?

We understand that these topics may seem technical. Our team is here to advise and protect you legally as well as technically.

➡️ Contact us to discuss your project in complete confidence.

Discuss Scraping