My Reddit AMA on the Law of Web Scraping
Summary
Eric Goldman summarizes a Reddit AMA on the law of web scraping, highlighting that scraping is widespread but not clearly legal and outlining a four-step framework (trespass to chattels, CFAA, copyright/DMCA, and terms of service) to evaluate legality. The post discusses policy trade-offs between information access and property rights, with references to landmark cases and ongoing doctrinal uncertainty.