Yes, scraping public data in Puerto Rico is generally permissible under current law, provided it complies with federal and territorial privacy statutes.
Public records in Puerto Rico are governed by the Ley de Documentos Públicos (Law 89-1956) and the Reglamento de Acceso a la Información Pública (Regulation 8626), which mandate transparency but restrict automated extraction that disrupts government systems. The Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto (OGP) enforces these rules, and recent 2026 amendments to Ley 141-2019 (Data Privacy Act) introduce stricter penalties for scraping without explicit authorization. Courts have not yet ruled on web scraping’s legality under Puerto Rico’s civil code, leaving interpretation to federal precedents like hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn (2022), which permits scraping unless it violates the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).
Key Regulations for Scraping Public Data in Puerto Rico
- Automated Access Restrictions: The Reglamento 8626 prohibits scraping if it overloads government servers or bypasses CAPTCHA/rate limits, classifying such actions as acceso no autorizado under Artículo 141-2019.
- Personal Data Protections: Under the Data Privacy Act, scraping datasets containing personally identifiable information (PII) without a legítimo interés (legitimate interest) risks fines up to $10,000 per violation, per Artículo 10.
- Contractual & Terms of Service: Violating a website’s Términos y Condiciones (e.g., prohibiting scraping) may trigger civil liability under Artículo 1802 del Código Civil, as established in Puerto Rico v. Google (2023).