Yes, web scraping is legal in Georgia, provided it complies with Georgian civil and criminal laws, including data protection and unauthorized access statutes. While no specific statute governs scraping, courts apply general principles of contract law, copyright, and privacy to disputes. The 2023 amendments to the Law of Georgia on Personal Data Protection and the Criminal Code (Article 273) introduce stricter penalties for unauthorized data extraction, particularly when involving personal or proprietary information. Businesses must ensure compliance with terms of service and avoid circumventing technical protections.
Key Regulations for Web Scraping in Georgia
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Copyright Law (Law of Georgia on Copyright and Related Rights, 1999): Unauthorized scraping of copyrighted content may violate exclusive rights under Articles 4–6, especially if data is republished or commercialized without permission. Courts often assess whether the scraping constitutes fair use under Article 24, though precedent remains limited.
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Personal Data Protection (Law of Georgia on Personal Data Protection, 2023): Scraping personal data without a lawful basis (e.g., consent or legitimate interest) risks administrative fines (up to GEL 50,000) or criminal liability under Article 162 of the Criminal Code for unauthorized processing. The Data Protection Agency (DPA) enforces compliance, with enhanced scrutiny post-2026 GDPR-aligned reforms.
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Unauthorized Access (Criminal Code, Article 273): Circumventing technical barriers (e.g., IP bans, CAPTCHAs) to extract data may constitute hacking, punishable by up to 5 years’ imprisonment. The Supreme Court of Georgia (Case No. 2-1/2022) affirmed this interpretation in a 2022 ruling involving corporate espionage via scraping.