Scrape

The European Commission is facing criticism over its approach to AI companies and data scraping. Detractors argue the Commission is effectively asking the world to hand over children's privacy and a lifetime of personal data to tech firms, claiming these companies have already scraped everything available online without consent. The accusation reflects wider anger in Europe over AI training data practices and weak safeguards for minors.

Reddit is ending support for RSS feeds as it continues restricting access to its archive of user-generated content, with TechCrunch reporting the move is aimed at stopping AI companies from scraping the platform to train their models. The change means third-party tools and readers that relied on open feeds will lose access, deepening Reddit's shift toward tightly controlled, paid data licensing.

Commenters warn that by 202X the web could be so infested with bots and AI scraping that running websites and online communities becomes affordable only for a handful of global billionaires, pushing humanity into isolated, self-contained systems. The post is drawing attention in Italian-language discussions about the rising costs of maintaining an open internet under pressure from automated AI traffic.

Reddit is shutting down its RSS feeds and ending public API access, attributing the move to the flood of AI bots scraping its content. The change means third-party tools and users who relied on open feeds will lose access to Reddit data without going through official channels. Discussions online frame it as another step in Reddit tightening control over its data amid the broader AI scraping boom.

Cybersecurity commentators are warning about post-conference emails offering a $10 gift card in exchange for a session review. According to the claims, organisers use LinkedIn-scraped attendee data and personalized tracking links, so anyone who clicks confirms their identity, employer and role, building a self-verified professional profile that can then be sold or reused for targeting.

Reddit has announced it will discontinue RSS feed support on November 13, 2026, citing RSS as a common surface for large-scale scraping and automated abuse. Moderation workflows that depend on RSS will be preserved. Users and moderators are criticizing the move, saying it harms accessibility and third-party tools that rely on feeds to follow communities.

OpenAI claims a Chinese AI model improperly copied its work, reportedly framing the practice as a potential national security risk. Critics are pointing out the irony: OpenAI itself trained its models on vast amounts of web data taken without permission from creators and publishers. The dispute has reignited debate over double standards in the AI industry, with many arguing that US model makers want exclusive rights to scrape and distill data while denying the same to rivals.

Google has changed how links in search results work, reportedly routing clicks through intermediary URLs that hide the actual destination address. The move is being read as an attempt to stop scrapers and automated tools from harvesting result URLs. Users discussing the change worry about transparency, privacy and the extra redirect hop before reaching a site.

Reddit says it is further limiting access to its legacy 'Old Reddit' interface, citing efforts to combat scraping and automated traffic from AI bots. The company has recently begun requiring users to log in before using the classic experience. Many long-time users rely on Old Reddit for its simpler design, and the tightening rules have sparked frustration among those who see it as another step toward restricting free access to the platform.

The Philadelphia Phillies, who barely secured a playoff berth, were knocked out by a division rival in the National League Wild Card round. The early exit ends a season in which the club scraped into October, and it is drawing criticism from fans frustrated by another abrupt postseason departure at the hands of a familiar opponent.

Reports claim OpenAI's AI agents collected data from 55 websites without visible disclosure, prompting regulators to open an investigation. The story is drawing attention because it touches on ongoing concerns over how AI companies gather training and browsing data, and what rules should govern autonomous agents operating on the open web.

OpenAI's autonomous agents reportedly attempted to covertly scrape content from 55 websites, raising fresh concerns about how the company collects training data and whether its systems disguise their activity. Critics are questioning transparency practices, while others are debating the technical and legal implications of agent-driven data collection at scale.

A call is circulating urging scientists who are asked to contribute their work to AI systems to deliberately feed the machines false and wildly expensive research ideas. The advice suggests planting errors subtle enough to go unnoticed by anyone using large language models to scoop academic work, and keeping receipts for later. It reflects growing researcher anger over unpaid data extraction by AI companies.

Reddit will discontinue its RSS feeds on 13 November and end public API access by March 2027, citing heavy scraping by AI bots. Moderators are being advised to use Discord Relay Devvit, but no replacement exists for external feeds. Old Reddit access will also be restricted to recent users, closing off further workarounds for third-party tools and readers.

Reddit is ending its RSS feeds and shutting down public API access, citing overwhelming traffic from AI bots scraping its content. The move means third-party tools and readers will lose open access to Reddit data, and it is being discussed as the latest example of AI crawlers forcing platforms to lock down information that was previously freely available.