X 's Suit Against Data-Scraping Company is a Case to Watch, Privacy Lawyer Says

In the 2023 case, X Corp v. Bright Data (23-03698), the social media platform alleges Bright Data extracted and copied public data from it and sells tools that help others do the same. X asserted breach-of-contract and sought to bar Bright Data from scraping data. Bright Data filed a motion to dismiss, alleging X failed to state a claim. The U.S. District Court for Northern California agreed and allowed X to file an amended complaint with new counsel, which it did in three new claims.

“It’s rare in the web-scraping world when a party that seeks to stop scraping engages with a company with the resources to fight back and the appetite to do so,” McCarthy said. “But that’s what’s happening here. X Corp. won’t relent. And for Bright Data, scraping is their business, and business has been good. This makes me think that a lot of important precedent is going to come out of this case, and I think we’re just at the beginning.”

When it comes to web-scraping and data-access cases, “the party seeking access typically doesn’t just carry the burden of prevailing on some of the legal claims,” it must prevail on all the claims, said McCarthy. “While the legal theories used to block scrapers continue to evolve from trespass to chattels to the [Computer Fraud and Abuse Act] to breach of contract to the [Digital Millennium Copyright Act], the stakes remain the same. The party looking to stop scraping just needs one legal theory that lands with the judge and they can likely obtain injunctive relief.”

The narrative may change, however, if the party seeking data access prevails through trial on antitrust claims. No matter what, though, “this case has all the elements of a heavyweight legal fight, and it will be a case to watch closely in 2025 (and probably beyond)."