Google has filed a lawsuit against SerpApi for evading security measures and taking protected content that appears in search results. The action, announced on December 19, 2025, aims to stop bots that, according to Google, ignore site rules and resell information that doesn’t belong to them.
What happened
Google accuses SerpApi of using techniques to bypass controls and mass-extract content from web pages that appear in Search. The complaint says those bots hide, constantly change their identity, and use massive networks to access content despite restrictions set by sites and by Google.
You might ask: isn't this just web crawling? Not exactly. Google draws a line between legitimate crawlers that follow protocols and respect site directives, and stealthy scrapers that ignore those rules and commercialize information without permission.
Why it matters
When a service takes images, real-time data, or snippets that Google or other providers license and then resells them, many parties are affected: creators, publishers, data providers, and end users. It's about rights, about sites choosing who can use their content, and about the sustainability of businesses that depend on that revenue.
