In the realm of web scraping, a heated legal battle is unfolding between tech giants Google and SerpApi. Recently, SerpApi made a move to dismiss Google’s lawsuit against them, sparking further controversy in the industry.
The feud began in late 2025 when Google filed a lawsuit against SerpApi, accusing the data extraction startup of bypassing their security measures in scraping search results. SerpApi, which is used by platforms like ChatGPT for user searches, refutes these claims, arguing that Google is using copyright law to protect its advertising revenue rather than genuine creative content.
In a blog post by SerpApi’s CEO, Julien Khaleghy, the company’s defense centers around the belief that the internet is a shared space that cannot be owned by any single entity. They highlight the irony of Google’s lawsuit, pointing out that Google itself built its empire by scraping and indexing public information from across the web.
SerpApi’s motion to dismiss argues that the DMCA is meant to protect copyright holders, not website operators like Google. As Google Search primarily displays content created by other publishers, SerpApi contends that Google cannot claim copyright protection over this data without the consent of the original creators.
Google emphasizes in their complaint the resources invested in bot-detection tools to safeguard their platform and advertising business. However, SerpApi maintains that their software operates within the bounds of standard web browsing, accessing publicly visible pages just like any regular browser.
The legal filing also delves into the potential damages at stake, with SerpApi claiming that Google’s interpretation of the DMCA could result in fines up to $7.06 trillion. This astronomical figure raises questions about the intended use of the DMCA by Congress and the implications for the tech industry.
As the case unfolds in federal court, Google seeks to protect its infrastructure and business model, while SerpApi positions itself as a champion of a free and open internet. The outcome of this legal battle will have significant implications for data accessibility and the practices of tech giants in controlling indexed information.
The ongoing dispute between Google and SerpApi underscores the complex intersection of technology, copyright law, and internet freedom. As the industry watches closely, the outcome of this legal showdown will shape the future of web scraping and data access for years to come.