Accessing Government Legal Documents: New Rules for Federal Register Websites

You might care about this because the US government has changed how people and automated programs can access its important legal websites, FederalRegister.gov and eCFR.gov. These changes are in response to many automated programs, sometimes called bots, that have been aggressively trying to gather information from these sites. To keep these public resources working well for everyone, the government now limits direct automated access. If you are a developer or a program that needs to get information regularly, you are asked to use special developer tools called APIs. These APIs are designed to provide structured access to the data. If you are a human user browsing the website and your activity looks like it might be from an automated program, you will be asked to complete a simple test, known as a CAPTCHA. This test helps confirm you are a person, not a bot. You might be asked to do this test more than once, as it is a normal security step. This system helps ensure fair access and protects the websites from being overwhelmed by automated traffic. What makes this situation particularly interesting is how government agencies are adapting to the challenges of the digital age. Public government websites like the Federal Register hold vast amounts of important information. Making this information widely available is key for transparency and public understanding of laws. When automated programs scrape these sites too aggressively, it can slow down or even crash the servers. This prevents legitimate users from getting the information they need. By directing automated access to specific APIs and using CAPTCHAs for questionable human access, the government is trying to strike a balance. They want to provide open access to public data while also protecting the stability and performance of their online resources. This approach aims to keep the information accessible for everyone, whether they are a casual browser or a researcher using advanced tools. People who would be most interested in this document include legal researchers, data scientists, and developers. Anyone who creates tools or conducts studies that involve automatically collecting data from government websites would find this very relevant. This also applies to law firms, academic institutions, and technology companies that rely on up-to-date federal regulations and notices. They need to understand these access rules to ensure their data collection methods remain compliant and effective. Even general public users who frequently visit FederalRegister.gov or eCFR.gov might encounter these new security measures, especially if their internet connection or browsing habits are mistakenly identified as automated activity. This notice helps them understand why they might be asked to complete a CAPTCHA test.