Vick's

Host (Alex):
"Hey everyone, welcome back to TechTales Unfiltered! Today, we’re diving into something spicy — web scraping. Is it legal? Is it not? And what happened when LinkedIn tried to crush a tiny data startup? Stick around, this is a wild ride."

Guest (Jamie):
"Hey Alex, excited to be here! You know, people think scraping is this shady hacker thing. But actually, it's a lot more complicated — especially after what happened between LinkedIn and this small company called HiQ Labs."

🎧 Act 1: What Is Scraping, Really?

Alex:
"Alright Jamie, quick one: what’s web scraping in simple words?"

Jamie:
"Scraping is like using a robot to read websites and pull out information automatically. Like, if you want a list of all prices from Amazon, you don’t copy-paste manually — your scraper grabs it all fast."

Alex:
"Sounds innocent enough. I mean, it’s just public data, right?"

Jamie:
"That’s the catch! Whether it’s public or not — companies hate it when you automate access to their data. Even if it’s visible to everyone."

🎧 Act 2: The Battle Begins – LinkedIn vs HiQ

Alex:
"Okay, now tell me about HiQ Labs. Who were these guys?"

Jamie:
"HiQ was this scrappy startup. They built tools to predict when employees might quit their jobs — cool stuff!
How?
By scraping public LinkedIn profiles — stuff you and I can view without logging in."

Alex:
"So no hacking. No sneaky backdoors. Just public profiles?"

Jamie:
"Exactly. But LinkedIn freaked out.
They said, 'You’re stealing our users' data! Stop right now.'
They sent HiQ a legal threat — a cease-and-desist letter. Then they blocked HiQ's IPs, put up technical barriers, everything."

Alex:
"Were HiQ scared?"

Jamie:
"Not even a little!
They actually sued LinkedIn back — said LinkedIn was trying to monopolize public information."

🎧 Act 3: Courtroom Drama – The Fight for Public Data

Alex:
"Wait... so scraping public info... is not illegal?"

Jamie:
"Here’s where it gets juicy.
HiQ argued, 'If information is public, anyone should be able to access it — manually or automatically.'
LinkedIn said, 'You’re violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).'
CFAA is a U.S. law against hacking. But HiQ fought back saying, 'Public pages aren't unauthorized access — they're meant to be seen by the world.'"

Alex:
"And who did the court believe?"

Jamie:
"In 2019, the Ninth Circuit Court sided with HiQ.
They said:
✅ Scraping public data is NOT hacking.
✅ HiQ had a right to access publicly available information."

Alex:
"Boom! David vs Goliath moment!"

Jamie:
"Exactly.
But LinkedIn didn’t just roll over. They appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court."

🎧 Act 4: Twist in the Tale – Supreme Court and Final Outcome

Alex:
"Oh snap — Supreme Court? This must've gotten serious."

Jamie:
"Yep.
But another case called Van Buren v. United States changed the meaning of 'unauthorized access' in 2021.
Because of that, the Supreme Court said, 'Let’s send the LinkedIn vs HiQ case back down for review based on new definitions.'"

Alex:
"So, after all this... what was the final result?"

Jamie:
"After years of fighting, HiQ and LinkedIn quietly settled.
But here’s the legacy:
✅ Scraping public data is not automatically illegal under U.S. federal hacking laws (CFAA).
❌ But companies can still block you technically or sue you under state laws."

Alex:
"In simple terms:
You can scrape public data legally...
But companies will still make your life hell if they want to."

Jamie:
"Exactly! You can be legally right — and still get crushed by lawsuits and technical blocks."

🎧 Act 5: Moral of the Story

Alex:
"So Jamie, if someone listening wants to scrape data... what's the golden advice?"

Jamie:
"Here’s the survival guide:
✅ Scrape only public, non-personal data.
✅ Be gentle and respectful — don't crash their servers.
✅ Read the Terms of Service — know what you’re risking.
✅ Never scrape private areas behind login walls.
✅ And if a company says 'STOP', it’s smarter to back off."

Alex:
"Brilliant. It’s like: the law is your shield, but it won’t stop the arrows."

Jamie:
"Haha, exactly! Scrape smart. Stay out of trouble."

Alex:
"That’s it for today, folks! If you loved this dive into the wild world of scraping, subscribe and share!
And remember: just because you can scrape — doesn’t always mean you should. Stay wise, stay legal."

Jamie:
"Thanks, Alex! Until next time — keep your bots in check!"