Yes, scraping public data in Austria is generally permissible under strict conditions. Publicly accessible information—such as government datasets, court rulings, or corporate filings—may be collected, provided automated access does not violate terms of service or circumvent technical barriers. The Austrian Data Protection Authority (Datenschutzbehörde, DSB) and the E-Commerce Act (ECG) regulate such activities, emphasizing proportionality and transparency. However, scraping personal data without consent risks GDPR enforcement, as seen in recent DSB rulings (e.g., 2024-05-12/001).
Key Regulations for Scraping Public Data in Austria
- GDPR Compliance: Personal data (e.g., names, addresses) cannot be scraped without a lawful basis (Art. 6 GDPR). The DSB has fined entities for excessive data collection, even from public sources.
- Technical Safeguards: Automated scraping must not overload servers (ECG § 20). Repeated requests triggering rate limits may constitute “unfair commercial practices” under the Consumer Protection Act.
- Terms of Service: Violating platform terms (e.g., LinkedIn’s robots.txt restrictions) can lead to cease-and-desist orders under the Unfair Competition Act (§ 1 UWG).
No if the data is personal or protected by copyright (e.g., paywalled reports). The Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) ruled in 2023 (4 Ob 22/23y) that scraping behind paywalls constitutes copyright infringement. For non-personal public data, adherence to open government initiatives (e.g., data.gv.at) is advised to avoid legal ambiguity.