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Is Web Scraping a Crime?

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24/01/2023

Unless you’ve lived under a rock, you’ve probably heard about Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica and HiQ Labs’s LinkedIn scraping scandals. You may even have heard about Bidder’s Edge’s 1999 eBay scraping scandal.

LinkedIn vs. HiQ Labs case

Linkedin vs. HiQ Labs has become a landmark case in data scraping. Its significance will be felt across social networks. LinkedIn is a professional networking website that allows its users to build connections. At the same time, which is a data analytics startup that harvests information from public LinkedIn profiles to create data profiles.

The dispute between LinkedIn and hiQ Labs started when LinkedIn sent a cease-and-desist letter to him. LinkedIn argued that hiQ’s data scraping activities violated the terms of their user agreement.

HiQ responded with a lawsuit against LinkedIn. HiQ claimed that LinkedIn illegally denied it access to public profiles. LinkedIn said that any further access to its data would violate state and federal law.

In the end, the district court granted hiQ’s motion for a preliminary injunction, but LinkedIn appealed. The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s ruling, ruling that LinkedIn’s actions were not preempted by the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).

LinkedIn argued that hiQ could continue to collect information from users if the users deleted their profiles, thereby allowing hiQ to retrieve the data. LinkedIn pointed out that other companies were using data analytics without using LinkedIn. However, the court could not conclude that hiQ had the constitutional rights required under the California Constitution.

In the meantime, LinkedIn was prepared to pursue legal action against hiQ if it continued its actions. LinkedIn filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking it to reconsider the case.

Bidder’s Edge’s 1999 scraping of eBay

Using a website aggregator to harvest eBay data is not new, but it is not new in the legal sense. The aforementioned entrant was not the only one in this boat. The US Court of Appeals has already thrown out a request by LinkedIn to block the scraping of its data.

The eBay vs. Bidder’s Edge case is notable because the two companies had a previous relationship. In addition to the court ruling on Bidder’s Edge’s site, eBay and its erstwhile competitor settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Although the two companies have since drifted apart, the case is still fresh in the minds of eBay’s lawyers and its legal personnel. The two firms have agreed on one key issue: eBay is entitled to a free year of service to the aforementioned company, which the court has deemed necessary to avoid a court battle. This paves the way for a new era of cooperation between the two firms. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen whether Bidder’s Edge will heed the call. This article discusses the legal and ethical considerations. It also examines the myriad of web scraping and aggregators. It is also important to note that while eBay is free to scrape data from its own site, it has no license to do so from competitors.

Cambridge Analytica vs. Facebook

During the past year, we’ve witnessed an enormous scandal involving Cambridge Analytica, Donald Trump’s campaign, and the Brexit referendum. These scandals are part of a larger trend referred to as surveillance capitalism, whereby the data gathered from a person’s life is aggregated and then used to infer detailed profiles of that person.

Cambridge Analytica, which is a part of Robert Mercer’s Emerdata hedge fund, was able to harvest tens of millions of Facebook profiles from the social network using a technique called web scraping. The company matched profiles to electoral rolls to target individual voters with political messages. The company claimed to be able to determine personality types.

Cambridge Analytica worked with Donald Trump’s election campaign and the winning Brexit campaign, helping to win voters over to the cause. It acquired 50 million Facebook profiles, including data from 87 million Americans. It built an algorithm to analyze profiles and claimed it could micro-target messages that would resonate with particular groups of voters.

The company also said it used data from friends to build a personality test called “thisisyourdigitallife”. This app was paid for by 270,000 people and scraped their Facebook profiles to determine which personality traits would be correlated with their voting behavior.

This information was also used to build a database of psychographic profiles that would allow political campaigns to determine which messages were likely to resonate with certain voters. The data was then sold to other companies.

MSB SOLICITORS APPOINTS NEW PARTNER TO STRENGTHEN ITS AWARD-WINNING FAMILY TEAM

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24/01/2023

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North West-based full-service law firm, MSB Solicitors, has announced the return of John Owens, as Partner to its Family team this month.

John spent over two years at MSB as a senior associate solicitor from 2019 until he left to pursue a role as head of family Manchester, with national law firm Slater and Gordon Lawyers UK.

Already well established in the North West’s legal sector, John joins the leadership team at the fast-growing firm’s No 4 St Paul’s Square headquarters.

While his background was initially in litigation, after completing his training as a solicitor with PMC, John took then took the decision to specialise in family law. He has since developed specific expertise in dealing with mid to high-net-worth financial cases, those involving an international element and private Children Act cases.

John has developed a reputation for being commercial and proactive in his approach to cases, with experience of complex cases often involving businesses, overseas assets, complicated pension or trust arrangements and inherited assets.

On returning to MSB, John said:

“I’m thrilled to be moving back to MSB with its continued growth over recent years, increasing strength in the market, and commitment to staying ahead of the curve.

“There are exceptional solicitors at the firm, with real specialist knowledge, and we are very well-placed to offer an excellent service to clients.

“I’m excited to be working with these colleagues again, and to be playing a leading part in the firm’s ongoing growth.

“What I really value about MSB is that you’re not just a number – everyone plays an integral part in the firm’s success, and the firm values and invests in its staff to help them grow.”

“It feels like coming home.”

Emma Carey, Managing Partner at MSB, said:

“We are delighted to welcome John back to the firm and are confident he is the right person to join our leadership team.

“During his time at MSB, John became a well-known and respected family lawyer in the region and, among other things, became instructed by high profile business owners, Sports and TV personalities and their spouses, property developers, and professionals, including many from the legal community.

“He has gained additional valuable experience in the last year which strengthens not only our family team, but MSB’s overall offering for the future.

“Being an employer of choice for high calibre lawyers, like John, is important to our business and we value the wider contribution that he and others bring to our leadership team.”

To find out more about MSB, visit: www.msbsolicitors.co.uk

Appointment of Helen Binns as partner strengthens specialist team for Beever and Struthers, an owner-managed businesses and charities at accountants and business advisors

Olivia McHugh

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24/01/2023

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Accountants and business advisors Beever and Struthers have improved their expert team dedicated to providing services to owner-managed businesses with the appointment of Helen Binns as partner.

Helen brings more than 20 years of experience managing a diverse portfolio of owner-managed businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

She provides tailored and expert advice on all aspects of accountancy, tax and advisory to businesses in sectors including professional services, manufacturing and retail, charities and not-for-profit organisations.

Helen is also a trustee at Pendleside Hospice in Burnley, Lancashire, a registered charity where she sits on the finance committee.

Joining the expanding firm from Azets, Helen will operate between the Beever and Struthers’ offices at One Express, Ancoats, Manchester and The Beehive, Shadsworth Business Park, Blackburn, Lancashire.

Helen said: “I’m joining the well-respected team at Beever and Struthers at an exciting time of expansion. The firm has a strong reputation for high-level client service and investment in its people and I’m delighted to be able to play a part in their future growth.

“My experience in advising SMEs, owner-managed businesses and the charitable sector will support our clients for the future, and I look forward to working with our varied client base throughout Greater Manchester and Lancashire.”

Maria Hallows, executive partner at Beever and Struthers, added: “Helen is an invaluable addition to our ever-growing team, enhancing our delivery of a joined-up approach to meet the business, personal and family requirements of owner-managed businesses.

“Her experience in the charitable sector will help our clients to achieve compliance with the complexities of financial reporting, increasingly challenging regulatory duties and good governance for trustees.”

Manchester agency Ultimate selected as tech partner for world’s largest play structure

Olivia McHugh

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24/01/2023

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Manchester based digital agency Ultimate are thrilled to have been appointed technology partner for Lilidorei at The Alnwick Garden. The world’s largest children’s play structure is scheduled to open in Spring 2023 at The Alnwick Garden, becoming one of Northumberland’s “must-visit” attractions.

The Duchess of Northumberland is behind the creation of the magical village of Lilidorei, a £15m project which will bring a whole world of mythical creatures to life – all connected via giant slides, zip wires and climbing structures.

Ultimate will be working in partnership with the team at The Alnwick Garden and web agency Blumilk to bring this project to life digitally and facilitate a seamless online ticketing journey.

Jon Walker, CCO at Ultimate said of the project: “We’re really looking forward to working with such an inspiring and innovative attraction! Ticketing systems can be challenging and make or break the customer’s experience when it comes to planning a visit. We’re excited about creating the very best human-first booking journey for visitors and producing a booking experience befitting of this brilliant attraction.”

Lilidorei at The Alnwick Garden will also be featured in a six-part documentary on Channel 4, which will tell the story of its inception through to its grand opening later this year.

Sustainable Beverage-Packaging Collections Across the North led by WDS Group

Olivia McHugh

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24/01/2023

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WDS Group has partnered with hospitality businesses across Manchester, Cheshire, Lancashire, North Wales and Yorkshire to make a positive environmental impact. For nearly 14 years, the Bury-based beer, wine and spirits wholesaler and distributor has been minimising its carbon footprint, operating a zero-landfill model and fully recycling all its trade waste. WDS Group now supports the beverage industry across the area to be more sustainable. During its deliveries to pubs, bars, cafés and restaurants, WDS Group collects empty KeyKegs that may otherwise end up as landfill.

KeyKegs are sustainable, designed-for-circularity beer, wine and other beverage Kegs produced by OneCircle; once empty, they can be processed to recover the actual raw materials used to produce new KeyKegs. WDS Group joined OneCircle’s Return Partner Network in early 2019 and has already collected 65 tons of empty Kegs for recycling. During last summer alone, it collected 10,000 empty KeyKegs.

An environmentally conscious hospitality industry is creating a buoyant market for sustainable waste-management solutions. From Sheffield to Stoke, Lancaster to York, and everywhere in between, a steady stream of businesses approach WDS Group to return all their empty KeyKegs to the circular economy, helping protect the environment. As more empty Kegs are collected, the amount of circular material in each new KeyKeg will steadily increase, conserving precious natural resources.

Manchester’s Reserve Wines imports world-class wine sustainably, direct from wineries in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal. Shipped in lightweight KeyKeg to reduce the environmental impact, the fresh wines are served in Reserve Wines’ bars and decanted into reusable bottles in its shops. WDS Group collects up to 100 empty KeyKegs per month from Reserve Wines.

Nic Rezzouk, Buyer, Reserve Wines: “With help from WDS Group we are able to make closed-loop recycling a success — we could not have achieved it alone. Our future focus is wine on tap, so with WDS Group and KeyKeg we can serve high-quality, delicious-tasting wines and be sustainable.”

Salford’s First Chop Brewing recognised a demand for the highest quality, locally produced beer that reaches local consumers fresh, in a sustainable way — and leaves no lasting negative environmental impact. It now packages many of its most popular beers in KeyKeg. WDS Group not only distributes First Chop beers around the region, but also collects the empty KeyKegs afterwards.

Rik Garner, Founder, First Chop Brewing: “Sustainably distributing our beer as fresh as possible is most important. WDS Group and KeyKeg help us do that. We are also pleased to be part of WDS Group’s closed-loop recycling process.”

WDS Group crush and bundle the empty KeyKegs for OneCircle to collect. OneCircle then shreds, separates and sorts the different plastics on an automatic recycling line to recover the raw materials. As much recycled material as possible is used to produce new KeyKeg parts, while the remainder is recycled for other uses.

Sam Evans, Sales Director, WDS Group: “We’re happy to be part of KeyKeg closed-loop recycling, helping pubs, bars and restaurants return their empty Kegs for recovery of the materials used to make new Kegs. At WDS Group we want to continue collecting and recycling as many empty KeyKegs as we can to make a greater positive environmental impact in the region.”

Manchester housing association reveals £22k savings thanks to new paperless filing system

Olivia McHugh

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24/01/2023

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A leading housing group has revealed transferring one area of its operation to a digital system has saved £22.500 per year.

Mosscare St Vincent’s Housing Group (MSV) also said migrating its gas safety reporting processes to an online document management system has saved 234 days of work annually since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020.

The north west community-based landlord, which owns and manages 9,000 rental homes across the region – 7,500 of which it routinely services – reported reducing time by an average of 15 minutes per property by cutting needless paperwork.

John Paul Petryczuk, ICT and business systems architect at MSV, which employs 350 staff, said: “It has been a revelation since we moved away from using paper for filing our gas safety certificates.

“When you consider the number of properties we service, that is a lot of time and money we have recouped in a relatively short period.

“There were so many issues we had to deal with in terms of certificates getting lost, damaged or misplaced.

“If there were any issues with the reports, we would need to send another engineer back to the property to go through the whole process again. It caused significant problems for many years.

“Since switching to using a digital system to file and store documents, the problems we were facing no longer exist.

“The migration really has been nothing short of a revelation. The sheer number of benefits we have seen has almost been unquantifiable. Everything is now so much easier to store, access and check.

“We certainly won’t be going back to paper.”

MSV previously partnered with digital document management software provider DocTech for other areas of its operations, including accounting, and general administration.

The Manchester-based business’ automated solution was introduced in 2015 to improve efficiency.

But with the emergence of the covid pandemic at the start of 2020, everything changed. Social distancing, remote working and other restrictions on human contact rendered traditional paper systems virtually obsolete.

To maintain its workflow throughout 2020 and the following year, MSV said it had to expand its digital systems to remove the need to share physical documents, such as tenancy agreements, reports and contracts.

Digital signatures were also introduced by integrating DocTech’s solution with MSV’s housing management system, MRI Housing Enterprise.

The group said the move was an instant success.

Paul Clark, senior applications analyst at MSV, said: “Aside from saving time and money on issues with paper certificates and reports, we also started to notice huge savings on the removal of small tasks such as scanning and printing.

“In isolation, these might seem like minor benefits, but when you calculate the thousands of these documents we process each year, it adds up to significant savings across the board.

“We have now adopted DocTech solutions for pretty much every system we possibly can across the organisation, which involves thousands of documents. It is incredibly intuitive, flexible, compliant and secure, and everything is automated so it frees us up to work on other tasks. It has been a blessing.”

DocTech has recently been named as an official supplier in a new £2.8 billion government framework to boost the public sectors digital procurement processes.

Managing director Ruban Rajasooriyar added “the firm’s 22 years’ experience of working with public organisations has enabled the business to evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of the sector.

“Many of our biggest clients are in the public sector, which has helped us to develop a deep understanding of the unique challenges they face.

“Our clients focus is on developing an efficient hybrid workforce which is also safe and transparent with regards to the appropriate management of sensitive data. We are constantly evolving our solutions to tackle the challenges faced by our clients.

“Our longstanding and excellent working relationship with MSV and its continuous expansion into digital document management is testament to our team’s ‘solution-first’ approach.

“It is fantastic that our system has had such a positive impact on the organisation’s working practices.”

PM+M’s Bury office moved to Sandringham House

Olivia McHugh

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24/01/2023

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Chartered accountancy and business advisory and financial planning group – PM+M – has moved to new premises at Sandringham House in Bury.

The deal sees the firm take over 2,787 sqft of space which is nearly double that of its old office at Waterfold Business Park where it had been based since 2016.

The move follows a strong 12 months for the firm and will allow it to pursue and deliver its strategic growth plans over the coming years including expanding its headcount – the business has made 20 new hires over the past six months, building on its suite of services and delivering on its ambition of being the best North West firm of finance professionals.

PM+M, which also has an office in Blackburn, provides a range of services including audit, accountancy and advisory, cloud accounting, corporate finance, payroll, tax, and financial planning.

Helen Clayton – partner and head of the Bury office – said: “Since we arrived in Bury back in 2016 the business has gone from strength to strength. The calibre of our team is superb. The new office will enable us to continue on and – most importantly – maximise our current growth trajectory which is an exciting prospect.

Helen added: “Over the past six years, we have built up a strong presence in Bury which we are very proud of so it’s fantastic to secure this new base for our team and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the local market.”

New introductory courses launch in Manchester to upskill workers in digital currency and Esports

Digital

Olivia McHugh

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24/01/2023

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Education and training provider, SCL Education Group, are bringing part or fully funded digital learning courses in Blockchain and Esports for adult learners to Manchester.

In early 2023, both the Introduction to Blockchain and Introduction to Esports programmes will be delivered virtually, or on location, over two days, providing learners with key skills they can apply to the workplace.

Delivered as part of the European Social Fund (ESF), Manchester-based businesses will benefit from upskilled staff who have a clear understanding of growing digital sectors that will further enrich their individual job roles.

According to SCL Education Group course tutor, Belal Miah, digital skills are becoming increasingly essential within the workplace and expanding your skillset is a must for young employees looking to grow their roles.

“Digital currency and esports are two of the biggest growing sectors, not only in the UK but worldwide, and these courses focus on more than just these areas. Courses like the Introduction to Blockchain and Introduction to Esports provide a great foundation for anyone looking to upskill or find a new role within the wider digital landscape.”

The Introduction to Blockchain programme will cover the basics of digital currency, including how blockchain works, and the job opportunities available for those looking for a career change or progression.

The Introduction to Esports programme explores the world of professional gaming, how the industry is regulated and what the esports landscape looks like in terms of opportunities and roles.

SCL Education Group is now accepting applications from Manchester-based learners aged 19+ for an immediate start, with sessions delivered by digital technology experts on an ongoing basis throughout 2023.

For more information on these new and exciting industries and to register interest, email [email protected]

For further information, images and interviews, please contact: [email protected]

Rapid expansion for Manchester law firm as it creates 20 new legal roles in the North-West

Energy
Legal

Olivia McHugh

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24/01/2023

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A Manchester firm, which has quadrupled its workforce in less than 2 years, is pushing on with ambitious growth plans for 2023 by adding 20 staff to its legal team this month.

Barings Law, who specialise in representing consumers and businesses who’ve been victims of mis-selling, began fighting for justice on behalf of clients in 2009.

They’ve since become one of the leading tech-driven firms in the North-West having successfully won back millions in compensation for clients and invested a substantial amount of money into automation and AI.

The city centre firm is now on the hunt for 20 of the best legal minds comprising paralegals and solicitors to run its ever-expanding base of cases.

Practice Manager of Barings Law, Anil Kara, speaks about the positive strides the business has made over the last few years:

“I grow more and more proud of our achievements every day”, he said.

“To see how the firm has developed over the years is truly astonishing. There is a real appetite for automation within the business and investing in tech-driven processes, which will allow us to better serve our clients.

“The single biggest driver for us, is knowing we’re helping people get access to justice. It can be daunting for an individual to take on corporate giants alone, which is why we have a track record of facilitating successful group actions.

“Our ethos is to treat every client as an individual and we’re motivated by the prospect of changing lives for the better.

“Diversifying our claim type portfolio and expanding our team, shows our commitment towards striving for excellence and never standing still.”

The private equity backed firm, which helps clients recover their losses around mis-sold vehicle finance (PCP/HP), business interruption and self-invested personal pensions amongst other claims, is now adding more high-profile data breach cases, namely FatFace and South Staffs Water, to its repertoire.

Among the firm’s many prominent wins includes recovering more than £13m in damages for clients following Carphone Warehouse’s £29 million FCA fine over the mis-selling of their ‘Geek Squad’ insurance product.

Barings were also first to secure every leading judgment in unfair relationships involving high cost, short lending and breaches of the FCA’s Consumer Credit Sourcebook (CONC).

Mr Kara added: “We’re always looking to do more, settle more and make more of a difference. We also love giving bright talent the opportunities to thrive and make a real name for themselves in the industry.

“Our unwavering responsibility to stand up for what is right, is at the centre of everything we do and expanding our firm will better allow us to do just that.”

For more information on the new roles, call 0161 200 9960 or visit baringslaw.com for further details.

Greater Manchester and Osaka strengthen partnership on the road to Net Zero

Olivia McHugh

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24/01/2023

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Between 16^th to 19^th January, Greater Manchester welcomed a delegation of city officials, academic and business leaders to the city-region to work on opportunities for partnership on the road to Net Zero and ahead of Expo 25 in Osaka.

The visit, spearheaded by MIDAS, Greater Manchester’s Investment Agency, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the Greater Manchester – Japan Steering Group, was organised with the intention of sharing ideas and innovation opportunities for decarbonisation, building on the learnings of the October trip to Osaka undertaken by Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s Low Carbon team, MIDAS, Manchester Metropolitan University and business leaders.

Over three days, the delegation visited several key sites around the city-region that are leading the way in trialling new low carbon innovations, including University of Salford’s Energy House Labs, the Manchester Fuel Cell Innovation Centre at MMU, the Growth Company’s Green Skills Academy in Trafford, the Museum of Science and Industry and The University of Manchester.

To accelerate innovative Net Zero products and services to market, aiding decarbonisation, Greater Manchester has established the Energy Innovation Agency, a public-private-academic partnership, and to further support new solutions developed in Greater Manchester, Innovation GM was created to provide the ecosystem and investment businesses need.

The initiative works as a blueprint for translational innovation between Greater Manchester (GM) and government, that could catalyse inclusive economic growth of £7bn. With an emphasis on R&D commercialisation and industrialisation, it is open to working on partnerships and projects from innovative companies and hopes to attract even more from Japan, following a successful trip.

Rachel Eyre, Head of Advanced Manufacturing and Low Carbon at MIDAS said:

“Greater Manchester is already home to successful Japanese energy companies including Kansai Electric Power Company and Exergy Power Systems and we have the expertise and ambition to work with many more on the journey to a sustainable future.

The opportunities for forward-thinking innovators to discover, develop and deploy new technologies across transport, energy, retrofitting are endless. ”

Jo Ahmed, Partner at Deloitte and Honorary Consul of Japan in Manchester said:

““It was a privilege to welcome the delegation from Osaka to Greater Manchester. By bridging the gap, celebrating culture and agreeing new areas of cooperation, we are positive that our new shared bonds will result in a positive impact for people and places in both city regions”.

Greater Manchester has set an ambitious target to be carbon neutral by 2038 – which is 12 years ahead of the UK’s national target – opening significant innovation and market opportunities for Japanese companies to invest in the region.