Google Sues SerpApi Over Alleged Mass Scraping of Search Results

Overview

• Filed in California, the complaint alleges SerpApi sends hundreds of millions of artificial queries daily, with traffic up roughly 25,000% in two years.
• Google says SerpApi used bot networks, cloaking and fake browser identities to evade CAPTCHAs and its SearchGuard defenses.
• The filing cites DMCA Section 1201 and Google’s Terms of Service, arguing SerpApi offers back-door access to copyrighted and licensed content surfaced in Search.
• Google seeks an injunction to stop the bots and related operations, while SerpApi rejects the claims and argues parsing public information is protected speech.
• Google notes it offers no public Search API of this kind and says SerpApi markets a “Google Search API,” a dispute with implications for AI startups and researchers that rely on structured search data.