Overview

• ByteDance's web scraper, Bytespider, launched in April, is now collecting data 25 times faster than OpenAI's GPTbot.
• Bytespider's activity has surged, reportedly ignoring robots.txt protocols, which guide scrapers on permissible data access.
• The increased data collection is linked to ByteDance's development of a new large language model to enhance TikTok's search capabilities.
• Despite the looming threat of a U.S. TikTok ban due to national security concerns, ByteDance continues its aggressive data strategy.
• The practice of web scraping by tech giants, including ByteDance, has sparked controversy over data privacy and copyright issues.