I think we should be looking more at intent rather than the semantics of how web scraping can be achieved.
Whether you're setting user agent strings or taking screenshots of content doesn't really matter. What matters is what you do with the content/data.
I could build a scraper to mine data on a mass scale to stick it all in a db and instantly clear it. What are my intentions here? Learn a new skill, experiment?
One example in the comments was about phone scammers. Similar phone calls have been made in jest on radio talk shows, maybe not about scamming but impersonating famous people. What differs is the intent.
Proving intent is a also difficult, as initial intent could be disguised to hide a more sinister agenda, akin to a money laundering operation. But at the root of everything will ly intent and that's what you have to get to regardless of the moral arguments.
Whether you're setting user agent strings or taking screenshots of content doesn't really matter. What matters is what you do with the content/data.
I could build a scraper to mine data on a mass scale to stick it all in a db and instantly clear it. What are my intentions here? Learn a new skill, experiment?
One example in the comments was about phone scammers. Similar phone calls have been made in jest on radio talk shows, maybe not about scamming but impersonating famous people. What differs is the intent.
Proving intent is a also difficult, as initial intent could be disguised to hide a more sinister agenda, akin to a money laundering operation. But at the root of everything will ly intent and that's what you have to get to regardless of the moral arguments.