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Ringier Axel Springer Polska (RASP) has formally prohibited the unauthorized scraping of content from its websites, and also data mining and the use of that data to train artificial intelligence (AI) systems.The policy, announced in late 2025, aims to protect the company’s intellectual property and maintain control over its digital assets.
The move reflects a growing trend among media organizations seeking to regulate how their content is used in the age of AI. As large language models increasingly rely on vast datasets scraped from the internet, publishers are asserting their rights to prevent unauthorized use of their work.
Protecting Digital Assets: A Broad Prohibition
The prohibition extends to all forms of automated content retrieval, including the use of web crawlers, robots, and even manual methods. Specifically, RASP’s policy forbids the systematic retrieval of content, data, or details for the purpose of creating or developing software – with a particular emphasis on the training of machine learning and AI systems.
“This policy is designed to safeguard our investment in high-quality journalism and protect our revenue streams,” a senior official stated. “We recognize the potential benefits of AI, but not at the expense of our intellectual property rights.”
Permitted Use: Search Engine Indexing
A key exception to the prohibition is the use of content by search engines to facilitate retrieval. RASP acknowledges the importance of search engine optimization (SEO) and allows search engine crawlers to index its content. This ensures that users can still find RASP’s articles through standard search queries.
This distinction is crucial. While RASP aims to prevent the large-scale harvesting of data for AI training, it does not intend to hinder its visibility in search results.
Implications for AI Developers & Data Miners
The policy has notable implications for AI developers and data miners who rely on web-scraped data. Any attempt to train AI models using content from RASP’s websites without explicit consent will be considered a violation of the policy.
One analyst noted that this type of restriction is highly likely to become more common as publishers explore legal and technical measures to protect their content. “We’re seeing a clear pushback against the unfettered scraping of data for AI purposes,” they said.”Publishers are realizing they need to actively manage their digital assets.”
Future Enforcement & Legal considerations
RASP has not yet detailed the specific enforcement mechanisms it will employ, but the company has indicated it will pursue legal remedies against those who violate the policy.The policy is based on existing copyright laws and terms of service agreements.
according to a company release, RASP is actively monitoring web traffic and identifying instances of unauthorized scraping.The company is also exploring technical solutions, such as CAPTCHAs and rate limiting, to deter automated data retrieval.
The evolving legal landscape surrounding AI and copyright will undoubtedly play a role in shaping the future of data scraping policies. As AI technology cont
