Is Scraping Information Illegal in the Netherlands? Dutch Data Protection Authority Weighs In

Scraping information on the internet is illegal in almost all cases, according to the Dutch Data Protection Authority. The Dutch privacy regulator says that scraping ‘quickly’ collects personal data and that this is only allowed for a clear reason.

Netherlands Data Protection Authority he has written ‘instructions’ for organizations involved in data scraping from the internet. The AP is strict about this. “It is a widespread misconception that scraping should be allowed because everyone can already see everything on the Internet,” the regulator writes. “But the fact that information about you is public does not automatically mean that you also give permission for scraping.”

The guide explains what organizations need to do to use data scraped from the internet, such as what basis they need to have for this. The AP says that it is ‘rapidly happening’ that personal data is collected during scraping. In that case, scrapers must comply with one of the six principles mentioned in the GDPR. According to the AP, there can almost only be one: a legitimate interest, where an organization must explain that they are so interested in collecting the data. The AP immediately warns: “Often the specific characteristics of dredging make it difficult or even impossible to meet the conditions for this foundation. ” The AP has been saying for years that a purely commercial purpose cannot be a legitimate interest. Lawyers consider this to be a particularly strict definition the European Commission partially agrees.

The AP now says companies are barely allowed to scrape websites. “Scraping is almost always a violation of the GDPR,” the regulator writes. The legitimate interest is almost impossible to use: “It is almost impossible to fulfill these conditions when scraping .”

The regulator says dredging is permitted under certain conditions and mentions domestic use or ‘very targeted’ dredging as options. “For example, when an organization scours news media websites to find relevant news about their own company.” The guidelines the AP has now written apply only to individuals and companies, and not specifically to governments. They also need to take into account scraping, but since there may be different rules, such as a different law that the government can use as a basis, the AP will design different directions for this in the future.