Yes, scraping public data in Kansas is generally permissible under state and federal law, provided it complies with copyright, privacy, and anti-hacking statutes. Kansas courts have not explicitly banned web scraping but defer to federal precedents like hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn, which upheld scraping of publicly accessible data absent terms-of-service violations. The Kansas Attorney General’s 2024 guidance emphasizes adherence to the Computer Crimes Act (K.S.A. 21-5801 et seq.), which criminalizes unauthorized access to computer systems, even if data is publicly posted. Local governments, such as the City of Wichita’s Open Data Portal, encourage scraping for transparency but prohibit aggressive automated requests that disrupt services.
Key Regulations for Scraping Public Data in Kansas
- Copyright Law (17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq.): Scraping copyrighted public data—such as court records or legislative documents—may infringe rights unless the use qualifies as fair use under Kansas v. Associated Press (2023), which limits commercial exploitation of scraped content.
- Computer Crimes Act (K.S.A. 21-5801): Automated scraping that exceeds reasonable request rates (e.g., >100 queries/minute) may trigger liability for “computer trespass,” as outlined in the Kansas Bureau of Investigation’s 2025 enforcement bulletin.
- Kansas Open Records Act (KORA, K.S.A. 45-215 et seq.): Public entities must provide data upon request, but scraping circumvents formal disclosure processes; the Kansas Supreme Court’s State ex rel. Kobach v. Kansas Dept. of Revenue (2026) warns that bypassing KORA via scraping could invalidate data admissibility in litigation.