Data scraping in criminal law: the possible contribution in preserving the value of data analytics in the modern age

Abstract

Criminal investigations increasingly rely on data analytics, including web scraping, which may infringe upon privacy rights. The potential criminal implications of data scraping may intersect with civil disputes related to copyright law violations, breaches of terms of service agreements, and security protocol violations. The challenge for criminal law lies in allowing data scraping while simultaneously preventing abuses that arise from the unacceptable compromise or illegitimate sacrifice of other interests resulting from these technologies. Specifically, this analysis will scrutinize how criminal law tackles the aforementioned challenge, contemplating data scraping as both a tool for criminal investigation and a phenomenon subject to selective criminalization in accordance with the principle of extrema ratio.