Yes, web scraping is legal in Argentina under current laws, provided it complies with data protection, copyright, and contractual obligations. The Ley de Protección de Datos Personales (Law 25.326) and its 2026 amendments restrict scraping personal data without consent, while the Ley de Propiedad Intelectual (Law 11.723) protects copyrighted content. Courts have not yet issued definitive rulings on automated data extraction, but enforcement focuses on misuse rather than scraping itself. Businesses must align practices with the Agencia de Acceso a la Información Pública (AAIP), Argentina’s data protection authority, which monitors compliance with Law 25.326.
Key Regulations for Web Scraping in Argentina
- Data Protection (Law 25.326): Scraping personal data without explicit consent violates Article 5 and Article 10, triggering fines up to ARS 100 million (2026 adjusted). The AAIP requires anonymization or pseudonymization of personal identifiers.
- Copyright (Law 11.723): Extracting copyrighted content (e.g., articles, images) for commercial use without permission breaches Article 2, risking injunctions or damages. Non-commercial scraping may fall under fair use (Article 10), but case law remains unsettled.
- Terms of Service & Contracts: Violating website robots.txt or scraping behind paywalls/credentials constitutes breach of contract under Civil Code Article 1198, enabling civil liability claims. The Cámara Nacional de Apelaciones en lo Civil has upheld such claims in 2023–2025 rulings.