Is "public data" free to take? Scraping practices in turmoil due to Google's lawsuit

"API to Harvest Search Results" Finally Goes to Court

On December 19, 2025 (U.S. time), Google filed a lawsuit against the Texas-based data scraping company SerpApi. The issue seems simple but is actually complex.Is the act of automatically obtaining search results (SERP) and "selling them as an API" a convenient infrastructure, or is it a device that free-rides on the investments of search engines and publishers? With the advent of the AI era, the value of search data has skyrocketed, bringing a business that had long been in a gray area into the "spotlight." The Verge

What Happened? — Summarizing Google's Claims

According to reports, Google claims that SerpApi is scraping content from the web, including Google search results, on a large scale and reselling it to customers. Furthermore, it alleges that SerpApi bypassed the mechanisms (SearchGuard) that Google implemented as anti-scraping measures, accessing the data as if it were human browsing. The Verge

Google is particularly concerned about the "copyrighted works included in search results." Search results contain not only links and text but also images and various modules that appear in the Knowledge Panel, as well as information linked to Maps/Shopping, which includes licensed materials. Google positions that by "obtaining→formatting→providing as an API" these elements, SerpApi disrupts the costs and rights structures borne by Google and rights holders. Reuters

Additionally, media targeting the SEO industry report that Google describes SerpApi's model as "parasitic" and notes in the complaint that the volume of artificial requests is enormous. Search Engine Roundtable

What is SearchGuard: The Barrier Between "Human Browsing" and "Automated Retrieval"

At the center of this story is SearchGuard. According to The Verge, SearchGuard was deployed in January 2025 and has functioned to stop unauthorized scraping. Google claims that SerpApi used spoofed browsers and multiple IP addresses to disguise access as human and bypass this barrier. The Verge

Further industry media explanations describe SearchGuard as a mechanism that verifies "human browser-likeness" through JavaScript challenges, naturally allowing legitimate users while posing a barrier to bots. PPC Land

Google's official blog post also criticizes stealth scrapers for ignoring site intentions (such as robots.txt) through cloaking, botnet-like mass access, and crawler name spoofing, depriving rights holders of choice. It states that such activities have significantly increased over the past year, leading to the lawsuit as a "last resort." Google Blog

Who is SerpApi and Why Has It Been Used?

SerpApi is known for obtaining search results from Google, Bing, etc., formatting them into JSON, and making them easy to integrate into apps and analytics platforms. In practical settings,

• competitive analysis, price and inventory checks, tracking SERP ranking changes

• monitoring (detecting misinformation and fraudulent sites)

• collecting "source URLs" for LLM/search-related products
  have long been uses for "treating search results as materials."

A significant factor is that Google does not provide an "official API for search results" to the public. Ars Technica notes that while SERP scraping meets demand, it often falls into a legal gray area. Ars Technica

SerpApi's Counterargument: "It's Public Information" "A Lawsuit to Crush Competition"

SerpApi is fully prepared to contest, stating in reports that they are providing "the same information displayed in browsers without login," and claiming this lawsuit is a competition suppression against "innovators" creating next-generation AI, security, and browsers. Reuters

This is the "core" of the debate.

• If it's visible on the screen, is it okay to automatically collect it freely?

• Does it become a different story the moment volume and methods (evasion and spoofing) are involved?

• To what extent does copyright/protection extend to the edited work of a "search results page"?

Google strongly focuses on "means (evasion) and scale (massive)," while SerpApi emphasizes "access to public information." The arguments of both sides diverge technically and ideologically. The Verge

Why Now? — AI Has Skyrocketed the "Value of Search Data"

The reason this lawsuit is gaining attention is that the spread of AI has skyrocketed the "value of search result data." Ars Technica points out that chatbots need a collection of links (materials close to search results) to summarize the Web, resulting in increased demand for SERP data. Ars Technica

Additionally, as a background, there was a lawsuit in October 2025 where Reddit sued Perplexity and several scraping companies (including SerpApi), where Google's defense (SearchGuard) was also mentioned. Ars Technica

Reuters also reports that Reddit has shown support for Google's lawsuit. Reuters

Legal Issues: The Focus is on "DMCA Evasion" and "Copyright and Contract"

Based on reports and industry analysis, Google focuses on two main points.

1. Evasion of technical protection measures (around DMCA Section 1201)

2. Infringement of copyrighted works and licensed materials included in search results, and violation of terms of use

Especially with DMCA (evasion of technical protection measures), the focus is not just on "copy-pasting" but on "accessing by breaking through defenses," making it easier to establish a point of contention. SEO industry media introduce Google's stance to contest under the framework of DMCA Section 1201 and the increase in requests (up to 25,000% increase). Search Engine Roundtable

The lawsuit was filed on December 19, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, according to court records. Justia Dockets & Filings

※This is a general statement: The final determination of legality/illegality depends on the facts recognized in court, and at this stage, it is the claims of both parties.

What Will Happen to the Industry? (Impact on SEO, Data, and AI Products)

There are three reasons why this lawsuit is not just a "fire on the other side of the river" for practitioners.

1) Businesses that "use Google search results as materials" will be reorganized

There are many tools and analyses premised on obtaining SERPs. If an injunction or strong judgment is issued, services dependent on SERP data will need to change their procurement sources or fundamentally reorganize their acquisition methods. Ars Technica

2) The value of alternative data sources (other company indexes/licenses) will rise

Ars Technica suggests that if SERP scraping becomes difficult, demand may shift to other indexes/search platforms with official APIs. Ars Technica

3) The handling of "public information" will be redefined in the AI era

The intuition that "it's public, so it's okay to collect it mechanically" is strong, but the scale of "collection" in the AI era is vastly different. Google wants to put a stop to that. On the other hand, SerpApi argues that restricting access to public data will halt innovation. The Times of India

SNS Reactions: The "Double Standard" Debate Divides Opinions

In this case, what's prominent on social media and communities is not so much "enforcement of justice" but rather the **"who are you to say" problem**.

Reaction 1: "Google suing scrapers is like looking in a mirror"

In the comments section of Search Engine Roundtable, there are voices perceiving Google's lawsuit as a "signal to sue Google back," considering Google's history of incorporating publisher content and monetizing it through ads. Search Engine Roundtable

Reaction 2: "No, SerpApi is just cutting out the middleman. Stopping it is welcome"

In the same comments section, there are opinions welcoming the elimination of SerpApi, seeing it as "just one company in between" with no redeeming qualities. ##HTML_TAG_444