This article is general information, not legal advice. Laws differ by country and change over time. Talk to a lawyer about your specific situation.
Public vs private data
Most legal discussion separates publicly available information — anything anyone can see without logging in, like business listings — from data behind logins or paywalls. Collecting public business information is widely done and has generally been treated differently from accessing private systems. Getting around technical protections or accessing private areas without permission raises much bigger issues.
Terms of service
Websites set terms of use, and some restrict automated collection. Whether and how those terms apply depends on the site, the jurisdiction and the facts. This is one reason many businesses use established tools rather than building their own scrapers.
Personal data and privacy laws
Business data often includes people's names and work emails. Privacy laws such as the GDPR (EU/UK) and various US state laws can apply to personal data even when it is public. Common principles:
- have a legitimate reason to use the data
- use it in ways people would reasonably expect (e.g. business offers relevant to their business)
- tell people who you are and how to opt out
- don't keep data longer than needed
- honour requests to delete their data
Outreach rules
How you contact people is regulated separately:
- Email: CAN-SPAM (US) requires honest headers and subjects, a physical address and a working opt-out; UK/EU rules (PECR, GDPR) are stricter for some recipients.
- Calls and texts: in the US, rules restrict autodialled or prerecorded calls and texts to mobiles, and do-not-call lists apply in many cases.
Practical good practice
- collect only what you need for business outreach
- contact businesses about relevant business offers
- identify yourself clearly and make opting out easy
- remove anyone who asks, everywhere you hold their data
- keep records of where data came from
Prospect Cheap collects publicly available business information and shows where key details like owner names came from, so you can make informed decisions about how you use it.