Learn about the joint statement issued by global privacy authorities on August 24, 2023, addressing the risks of data scraping to privacy. Discover its implications for businesses and mitigation strategies
On August 24, 2023, a group of international privacy authorities issued a joint statement on data scraping and the protection of privacy. The statement was issued by the data protection authorities of New Zealand, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Norway, Columbia, Morocco, Argentina, Mexico, and Jersey.
The statement highlights the significant privacy concerns raised by data scraping technologies, which can collect and process personal information from the internet. The statement clarifies that the operators of websites that host publicly accessible personal information also have data protection obligations with respect to third-party scraping from their websites.
The statement identifies a number of specific privacy risks from data scraping, including:
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The statement stipulates that social media companies and other websites are responsible for protecting individuals' personal information from unlawful data scraping. The statement provides a number of mitigation controls that can be used to protect against data scraping, including:
The statement also notes that entities should inform users of the steps taken to protect users against data scraping. The statement also elaborates on what steps individuals can take to minimize the privacy risks from data scraping, such as managing privacy settings and limiting the amount of personal information shared.
It should be noted that the joint statement does not prohibit ordinary businesses from scraping data, as long as it is legal. However, businesses should be aware of the privacy risks associated with data scraping and take steps to mitigate those risks.
Some of the things that businesses can do to mitigate the privacy risks of data scraping include:
Here are some additional things that businesses should consider when scraping data:
Secure Privacy is committed to helping businesses protect their customers' personal information from data scraping. We offer a comprehensive range of data privacy solutions, including:
Secure Privacy can help you assess your data privacy risks, implement appropriate controls, and comply with all applicable data privacy laws and regulations.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you protect your customers' personal information from data scraping.
