[Startup Must-Know Laws] Legal Issues and Illegality of Data Crawling

Possibility of Rights Infringement
Examining the Legality of Data Crawling

Attorney Heecheol An, DLJ Law Firm

Data crawling refers to the automated collection, processing, analysis, and utilization of necessary information from the web. While it is a useful tool, it can infringe on others' rights during the process. In a context where the protection of intellectual property and personal information has become a significant value, it is important to examine whether crawling is a lawful act.

First, let us consider whether crawling constitutes computer-related obstruction of business under criminal law. Article 314 of the Criminal Act punishes acts that damage computers or other information processing devices or special media records such as electronic records, or input false information or unauthorized commands into information processing devices causing disruption to information processing and thereby obstructing business. To violate this, the information processing device must fail to perform its original function or experience a malfunction. An actual case involved HereUdaetdae crawling Yanolja’s accommodation information. The Supreme Court ruled that this did not constitute the input of false information or unauthorized commands, and it could not be concluded that the server’s access was disrupted due to crawling program access, thus determining that computer-related obstruction of business was not established.

Next, it is necessary to examine whether it constitutes copyright infringement under the Copyright Act regarding database copyrights. Article 2, Clause 19 of the Copyright Act defines database copyrights, and unauthorized reproduction or transmission may constitute copyright infringement. According to precedents, copyright was recognized for data from knowledge-sharing platforms like ‘RigvedaWiki’ and recruitment platforms like ‘SaraminHR,’ whereas in the Yanolja case, the Supreme Court did not recognize database copyright.

Then, there is the Personal Information Protection Act. To collect personal information, consent from the data subject must be obtained and used only within the scope of that consent. Therefore, crawling data containing personal information without consent may result in criminal penalties for violating the Personal Information Protection Act.

In summary, data crawling is unlikely to constitute computer-related obstruction of business if the information is publicly available on a website; however, if the data is protected by database copyright, there is a risk of copyright infringement, and unauthorized collection of data containing personal information may violate the Personal Information Protection Act.