Perplexity has been discovered using stealth, undeclared crawlers to bypass website directives that prevent crawling, raising concerns about web scraping ethics and compliance. This behavior challenges the integrity of web content management and the protection of user data and privacy. The article discusses the implications of such actions on website owners and the broader internet ecosystem.
Cloudflare has announced that it will block AI web crawlers by default, a move aimed at protecting websites and their content from being scraped and misused by artificial intelligence systems. The decision comes amid growing concerns about the ethical implications of AI and the potential for misuse of web data. This change is part of Cloudflare's broader strategy to enhance web security and address the challenges posed by AI technologies.