You may not use any automated tools — or manually replicate their function — to collect or interact with Craigslist content, and any third-party software that interacts with Craigslist requires a separate written license.
This analysis describes what Craigslist's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
The prohibition covers both automated tools and manual equivalents, and applies broadly to any software beyond standard browsers and email clients, meaning developers, researchers, and businesses face significant legal exposure for common data collection or integration activities without prior written authorization.
Interpretive note: The enforceability of scraping restrictions grounded in terms of service alone, without technical access barriers, is subject to ongoing judicial development in the US, particularly following Ninth Circuit rulings on CFAA applicability to publicly accessible websites.
Any developer, researcher, or business that uses scripts, bots, or third-party tools to access or collect Craigslist data is exposed to liquidated damages under the accompanying damages schedule, and even high-volume manual access (over 1,000 pages per day) can trigger per-page charges under the terms.
How other platforms handle this
You may not access or use the Services for purposes of developing or offering competitive products or services. You may not reverse engineer the Services or the Assets. You may not use automated tools to access, interact with, or generate Assets through the Services. You may not resell or redistribu...
You may not use automated tools to scrape, crawl, or extract data or content from Runway's platform, or attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, or otherwise derive the source code or underlying models of Runway's tools and services.
You may not access the Services in any way other than through the currently available, published interfaces that we provide. For example, this means that you cannot scrape the Services without X's express written permission, try to work around any technical limitations we impose, or otherwise attemp...
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"Unless licensed by us in a separate written or electronic agreement, you agree not to use or provide software (except our App and general purpose web browsers and email clients) or services that interact or interoperate with CL, e.g. for downloading, uploading, creating/accessing/using an account, posting, flagging, emailing, searching, or mobile use. You agree not to copy/collect CL content via robots, spiders, scripts, scrapers, crawlers, or any automated or manual equivalent (e.g., by hand).— Excerpt from Craigslist's Craigslist Terms of Use
(1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision engages the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), which prohibits unauthorized access to computer systems and has been applied in scraping disputes, though the scope of CFAA liability for terms-of-service-based access restrictions is subject to ongoing judicial interpretation following the hiQ v. LinkedIn litigation. The provision also implicates the DMCA's database and copyright protections to the extent scraped content is copyrightable. State computer fraud statutes may independently apply. (2) GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: High for data companies, researchers, and developers who routinely collect publicly accessible web data. The broad definition of prohibited access — including manual equivalents of automated scraping — is notable and extends the prohibition beyond what is technically automated, though enforceability of restrictions on purely manual access may face legal scrutiny. (3) JURISDICTION FLAGS: The enforceability of scraping restrictions grounded solely in terms of service (rather than technical access controls) is subject to ongoing legal debate in the US following the Ninth Circuit's hiQ v. LinkedIn decisions, which limited CFAA-based claims for publicly accessible data. EU users face additional considerations under the GDPR where scraped data includes personal information. Academic and journalistic scraping may receive different treatment under applicable law. (4) CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Procurement teams at data, analytics, or AI companies should treat Craigslist data as inaccessible without a separate written license agreement. Any vendor or contractor engaged in web data collection activities should be specifically instructed to exclude Craigslist from their collection scope. (5) COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Organizations that have historically collected Craigslist data should assess their current data inventories and consider whether retained data was collected under a prior license or in violation of these terms. The liquidated damages schedule imposes $3,000 per day for content aggregation, which makes retroactive exposure potentially significant. Written authorization from Craigslist should be obtained before any programmatic access is initiated.
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The prohibition covers both automated tools and manual equivalents, and applies broadly to any software beyond standard browsers and email clients, meaning developers, researchers, and businesses face significant legal exposure for common data collection or integration activities without prior written authorization.
Any developer, researcher, or business that uses scripts, bots, or third-party tools to access or collect Craigslist data is exposed to liquidated damages under the accompanying damages schedule, and even high-volume manual access (over 1,000 pages per day) can trigger per-page charges under the terms.
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