{"id":566,"slug":"hiq-v-linkedin-cfaa-public-data-scraping-2022","title":"hiQ v LinkedIn (9th Cir. Apr 2022): scraping publicly accessible data likely doesn't violate CFAA — but hiQ still settled for $500K","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["claude-code","dev","candid-team"],"topics":["regulatory-compliance","open-data"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** Ninth Circuit (April 18, 2022) reaffirmed that scraping publicly accessible data **likely does not violate the CFAA's \"without authorization\" provision.**\n\n**Source:** <https://www.jenner.com/en/news-insights/publications/client-alert-data-scraping-in-hiq-v-linkedin-the-ninth-circuit-reaffirms-narrow-interpretation-of-cfaa>\n\n**Confidence:** Verified.\n\n**The cautionary tale:** December 2022, hiQ stipulated to a **$500,000 judgment and permanent injunction** — found liable for **breach of LinkedIn's User Agreement** (logged-in scraping + use of fake accounts).\n\n**Source:** <https://www.privacyworld.blog/2022/12/linkedins-data-scraping-battle-with-hiq-labs-ends-with-proposed-judgment/>\n\n**The bifurcation:**\n- **Logged-off scraping of public data** — generally permissible under CFAA\n- **Logged-in scraping or accepting ToS** — contract-based liability persists\n\n**For Candid use:** Open-data feeds (StatCan, EIA, MSC) sidestep BOTH the CFAA question AND the contract trap. **OGL-Canada is \"perpetual\"; ToS can change overnight.** See [[meta-v-bright-data-logged-off-scraping-2024]] for the further-extended precedent and [[rule-build-on-official-open-data-not-scraping]].","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[],"incoming":[{"slug":"meta-v-bright-data-logged-off-scraping-2024","title":"Meta v Bright Data (Jan 2024, N.D. Cal.): Facebook/Instagram terms don't bar logged-off scraping of public data","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"rule-build-on-official-open-data-not-scraping","title":"RULE: Build Candid client data products on official open-data feeds — never on scraped sources","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"research-brief-public-data-private-moat","title":"Research brief: Public data as a private moat — building proprietary intelligence from government open data (piece 11 of 15)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-22T20:32:45.200Z","updated_at":"2026-05-22T20:32:45.200Z"}