{"id":6605,"date":"2019-11-14T21:01:11","date_gmt":"2019-11-14T21:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.price2spy.com\/blog\/?p=6605"},"modified":"2021-05-07T13:53:01","modified_gmt":"2021-05-07T13:53:01","slug":"legal-aspects-of-online-price-monitoring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.price2spy.com\/blog\/legal-aspects-of-online-price-monitoring\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal aspects of online price monitoring"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"legal<\/a><\/p>\n

Once in a while our prospects ask us questions like ‘Is it legal to monitor prices online?<\/strong>‘.<\/p>\n

Our answer to that question is always – of course, it is<\/span>! We’re a serious business, employing over 100 full-time employees –\u00a0we would never jeopardize so many jobs<\/span>\u00a0if we were having any doubts in legality of what we’re doing.<\/p>\n

However, since we have noticed that there is a lack of documentation on the topic, we have decided to list what we have learned over time (keep in mind that Price2Spy has been in business since 2011 and that it currently has over 650 clients<\/a>):<\/p>\n

Q<\/strong>: Is it legal to monitor prices on someone else’s website? The prices are visible to anyone visiting the website.
\nA<\/strong>: Yes. The prices, along with other information displayed, are publicly available – to anyone visiting the website.\u00a0This includes human visitors but also various bots.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q<\/strong>: But is it legal to monitor such prices automatically?
\nA<\/strong>: Yes. In legal terms, it does not make any difference if you visited the website yourself and noted down the price in a notepad (or an Excel file), or you used a tool that automatically captures the price, and stores it for analytical purposes.<\/p>\n

Q<\/strong>: Some websites have terms and conditions, which do not allow data to be used for other purposes than the website owner has foreseen. Again, is price monitoring<\/a> on such websites legal?
\nA<\/strong>: Yes, as long as you do not explicitly accept such terms and conditions<\/span>. In other words, a website cannot disallow you to read the data which is publicly open.<\/p>\n

Q<\/strong>: Certain B2B websites do not show prices before I login to their website. Is it legal to monitor prices from such a website?
\nA<\/strong>: Does this website ask you to accept their terms and conditions when registering for such a B2B account? If so, please check such terms and conditions. Please note that this is the reason why Price2Spy will always ask you to supply credentials for B2B websites –\u00a0we consider you the owner of such a B2B account<\/span>\u00a0and that maintaining it is your responsibility.<\/p>\n

Q<\/strong>: I represent a brand that wants to monitor the prices of its own products on retail websites located in the EU. Is this legal?
\nA<\/strong>: Of course it is. Please check ‘Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union’ – Article 102 of TFEU<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

TFEU 102 says that the following is illegal:<\/p>\n