ByteDance's Bytespider Outpaces Rivals in Aggressive Web Scraping

The web scraper from TikTok's parent company is collecting data at unprecedented speeds as it seeks to bolster AI capabilities amid potential U.S. bans.

ByteDance's web scraper, Bytespider, launched in April, is now collecting data 25 times faster than OpenAI's GPTbot.
Bytespider's activity has surged, reportedly ignoring robots.txt protocols, which guide scrapers on permissible data access.
The increased data collection is linked to ByteDance's development of a new large language model to enhance TikTok's search capabilities.
Despite the looming threat of a U.S. TikTok ban due to national security concerns, ByteDance continues its aggressive data strategy.
The practice of web scraping by tech giants, including ByteDance, has sparked controversy over data privacy and copyright issues.