Legal Aspects of Social Media Scraping in 2026

Legal Aspects of Social Media Scraping in 2026

Data scraping from social media is a powerful lead generation tool, but compliance with legislation is crucial. We break down 152-FZ, GDPR, and best practices for legal operation.

Legal Framework

152-FZ "On Personal Data" (Russia)

Key provisions:

• Personal data — any information allowing identification
• Processing requires subject consent
• Exceptions: public data, data for contract execution

What's allowed:

• Collecting public information from open groups
• Using data for own purposes (with consent)
• Transferring data to third parties (with consent)

What's prohibited:

• Collecting sensitive data (religion, health, biometrics)
• Processing without consent
• Selling databases

GDPR (European Union)

Key provisions:

• Consent must be clear and specific
• Right to deletion (right to be forgotten)
• Right to access data
• Fines up to 4% of global turnover

For Russian companies:

• If you have EU clients — GDPR applies
• Privacy policy required
• DPO (Data Protection Officer) required

Telegram Rules

• Telegram doesn't prohibit scraping public data
• Spam and mass mailing without consent prohibited
• Accounts may be blocked for violations

VKontakte Rules

• Official API: 3 requests per second
• Data collection for sale prohibited
• Limitations on mass actions

Legal Scraping Methods

1. Public Information Collection

Allowed:

• Names from open profiles
• Public posts and comments
• Groups and interests
• City and region

Prohibited:

• Phone numbers (without consent)
• Email addresses (without consent)
• Health, religion data
• Biometric data

2. Using Official APIs

VK API:

• Register application
• Obtain token
• Respect limits (3 req/sec)

Telegram Bot API:

• Register bot via BotFather
• Work only in groups where bot is added
• No access to private messages

3. User Consent

Consent forms:

• Checkbox at registration
• Link to privacy policy
• Ability to revoke consent

Compliance Recommendations

1. Data Minimization

Collect only necessary data:

• Name — for personalization


• City — for geographic filtering


• Interests — for qualification

2. Transparency

Specify in privacy policy:

• What data is collected


• For what purposes


• How stored and protected


• How to delete data

3. Security

• Data encryption at rest
• Limited access to database
• Regular deletion of outdated data
• Access audit

4. Unsubscribe Option

Provide ability to:

• Unsubscribe from mailing


• Delete data


• Prohibit processing

How 24GO Ensures Compliance

Legal Data Collection

24GO collects only public information from open groups:

• Posts and comments


• User names


• Public profiles

Consent

• Users can unsubscribe
• Privacy policy exists
• Data deletion available

Security

• Data encryption
• Limited access
• Regular deletion

Penalties for Violations

152-FZ (Russia)

• Warning
• Fine up to 18M RUB for legal entities
• Activity suspension

GDPR (EU)

• Fine up to 20M EUR or 4% of global turnover
• For large companies — millions of euros

FAQ

Is Telegram scraping legal? Collecting public information from open groups is acceptable. Personal data collection requires consent. Do I need consent for scraping? For public data — no. For personal data — yes. How to avoid penalties? Comply with 152-FZ and GDPR, minimize data, ensure security.

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Use 24GO for legal lead generation — we comply with all regulations automatically.